CSB+SJU Magazine Spring 2022 by CSB+SJU

Spring Magazine 2022

Introducing the First President of Both the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University

Brian J. Bruess

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENTS

Welcome to this special tandem magazine from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University! The announcement of our first single president to lead the two institutions is an occasion for great excitement … and probably a few questions. So in the following pages, we’ll fill in the details, and answer the questions and say a collective hello to President Brian J. Bruess. Then watch this summer for your next issue of the CSB Magazine and early fall for your next issue of the SJU Magazine.

Defining and Delivering Strong Integration

6 FEATURES 6 10 16 22 26

Meet President Brian Bruess, Ph.D. Coming Together: Strong Integration A Thing of Beauty

This magazine is the combined publication of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. This one-time issue is published cooperatively by the separate CSB and SJU Offices of Institutional Advancement.

The Good Fight for Shared Services

EDITORS Dave DeLand (ddeland@csbsju.edu) Greg Skoog ’89 (gskoog@csbsju.edu)

A Better Path

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lori Gnahn

DEPARTMENTS 1 2 28 32 40 41

A Message From the Presidents News Updates Sports Roundup Class Notes Generosity Leave Your Legacy

CONTRIBUTORS Kevin Allenspach James Hundreiser Ryan Klinkner ’04 Leah Rado Frank Rajkowski PHOTOGRAPHY John Devroy Paul Middlestaedt Tommy O’Laughlin ’13 CONTACT College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University Magazine Marketing/Communications 37 South College Avenue St. Joseph, MN 56374

As they worked jointly on the definition and dimensions of Strong Integration at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, CSB Transitional President Laurie Hamen and SJU Transitional President Jim Mullen painstakingly laid the groundwork for what it is – and also for what it isn’t.

“Strong Integration is a way of governing these two organizations, a way of leading them and a way of administering them, which takes our collaboration to a different level,” Hamen said. “It maintains the individual identities of the two institutions and the histories of the two institutions, while allowing us to build on what we have in common in our Catholic and Benedictine traditions,” Mullen said. “And I think there’s a certain magic in that – you preserve the best of who you are while you find synergies and possibilities in building off what you have in common.” Not a merger. Not business as usual. It’s a new way of doing things – both here and across the landscape of American higher education. “It’s a governance, leadership and administrative system, and it’s also a national model,” said Hamen of the Strong Integration framework that includes one president and a commonboard structure, but also retains many of Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s historically unique elements. “It’s designed to be more innovative – to allow us to be more nimble and to allow

in the higher education world for the next several years. “What that creates is a sense of distinctiveness because of how we’ve come to this position. Distinctiveness wins in higher education – distinctiveness of brand, distinctiveness of experience, all of that wins in the competitive world of higher education.”

CSB Transitional President Laurie Hamen and SJU Transitional President Jim Mullen us to find synergies while preserving our traditions,” Mullen said. “The word I keep using is to be something ‘distinctive’ in a very competitive world. And I think they’ve created the model that can get us there. “I’m so positive and optimistic about this endeavor. If I was younger; what a great opportunity it would be to come in here and be the first president to inherit two places that did it this smoothly, this thoughtfully, with two strong institutions.” Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s are coming together not with a merger – which often is perceived as a situation where there’s a winner and a loser – but with something better. “There have been plenty of people, inside and outside our community, that think we should just merge. But we didn’t believe that. Our board and our monastic communities didn’t believe that was the best answer for keeping our missions. We felt that collaborating and strongly integrating in ways would help us go into the future,” Hamen said. “It was a conscious decision to not merge it. It wasn’t just sort of, ‘We accidentally backed into it.’ We

considered it and said ‘No’.” Instead, Hamen and Mullen embraced their mission and their working relationship as counterparts. “It’s great to have a partner who understands and treasures the mission of their own institution, but recognizes you have a special mission too and wants that to be preserved at all costs,” Hamen said.

“To do this kind of relationship, you’ve got to at once be comfortable with who you are and your experiences, but you’ve got to check your ego at the door,” Mullen said. “You’ve got to still be open to learning and listening and recognizing that.” What Mullen and Hamen set out to build is not only an exciting development at CSB and SJU, but also a nationwide educational model for others. “I think it enhances both of us. Again, it’s a national model,” Mullen said. “This is going to be in the conversation

“The future of higher education in my estimation is pretty tough,” Hamen said. “There’s need for innovation. There’s need to make sure you provide access and a great student experience. And as demographics shrink and change across the country, you have to continue to innovate – be better and better and better at what you do.” That’s the essence of Strong Integration, and the foundation of what Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s are joining to inspire and refine. “We think that’s really unique, and we think that our trustees are wellpositioned to make a great decision for both institutions, knowing the separate missions that we have but yet the ways that we’re connected,” Hamen said. “That to me is really beneficial, the governance structure of two boards.” “I think the way we’re trying to make this work is to allow a president to hit the ground running and be focused on driving clear strategy and vision, building national reputation and profile, and obviously leading the institutions in what will probably be for each of them large campaigns to support that mission,” Mullen said. “It’ll be a presidency that is in many ways externally focused. When the president is on the campuses, he will be able to focus on time with students and building student experience. “It’s really an amazing story.” 1

NEWS

Vande Hei Returns Safely From ISS Mark Vande Hei ’89 returned to Earth on March 30, after spending 355 days – the longest spaceflight in U.S. history – aboard the International Space Station. His return flight with two Russian cosmonauts, landing in Kazakhstan, became a source of international conversation after Russia began its military actions in Ukraine and the United States led efforts to impose sanctions. In the ensuing month, there were mixed messages from the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, as to whether Vande Hei would be allowed to return aboard a Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft. “Mark’s mission is not only recordbreaking, but also paving the way for future human explorers on the Moon, Mars, and beyond,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “Our astronauts make incredible sacrifices in the name of science, exploration and cutting-edge

technology development, not least among them time away from loved ones. NASA and the nation are proud to welcome Mark home and grateful for his incredible contributions throughout his year-long stay on the International Space Station.” “I’m very, very grateful to have had this amazing opportunity to come up to the space station here with such wonderful

people who I consider friends for the rest of my life; to serve my country and all of humanity,” said Vande Hei. “This is a very challenging time for international relations. My hope is that in our attempt to further and find peace throughout the world, that these type of connections that we have can be maintained and serve as a path forward.”

McKeown Earns Walter Reger Award When Dan McKeown ’85 looks at the list of people who have received the Fr. Walter Reger Distinguished Alumnus Award over the years, the CEO/president of Specialty Manufacturing Co. in St. Paul said he is deeply humbled to be joining that group. McKeown served as chair of the Saint John’s University Board of Trustees until January. His work in that capacity helped pave the way for Strong Integration. It is in recognition of those efforts, and of his accomplishments as a student, alumnus, trustee and advocate, that he has been named this year’s winner of the award – the highest honor bestowed by the SJU Alumni Association for service to the Saint John’s community. McKeown’s father Tom ’52 received the award in 1993, making the two just the second father-son combination to be awarded the honor. They join Bill ’55 and Jim Sexton ’81, who received it in 2000 and 2021 respectively. McKeown served on the SJU Board of Trustees from 2013 to earlier this year, and again followed in his father’s footsteps when he became chair – a role in which Tom had served from 1989 to 1992.

New 4+1 Option Accelerates Graduate Nursing Degrees The graduate nursing program at CSB and SJU is currently in its first year and already adding powerful new options for the future. This spring that means enrollment was open for a new 4+1 bachelor of science (nursing) to master of science (nursing) program. The 4+1 program allows undergraduate senior nursing students to take graduate courses toward their master of science in nursing: leadership and education for practice degree. Enrolled students will complete up to 18 graduate credits – essentially one year of coursework – during their undergraduate senior year. There is no reduction of undergraduate or graduate coursework, nor is there any reduction of required clinical hours for the bachelor’s degree or practicum hours for the master’s degree. So this is an extremely rigorous program, and students are strongly encouraged to consider the time and

dedication it will require. But, for the right students, there are significant advantages: • Enrolled students will pay undergraduate tuition for the graduate credits they earn in their senior year – saving as much as $9,000. • Students will accelerate their path to an MSN degree by a full year. • The curriculum integrates the liberal arts and Catholic and Benedictine values for which CSB and SJU are known, and emphasizes leadership, diversity and evidence-based practice. • Graduates will be prepared to lead and succeed in today’s complex and dynamic health care landscape. Enrollment was open this spring to juniors with a qualifying cumulative GPA, and five students will be participating in the fall.

Physics Department Adds Engineering Concentration Engineering Problem Solving with MATLAB. “These are things our alums have told us they do out in the field,” said Department Chair Jim Crumley. “And they are things they wished they had gotten to do more of when they were in our program. We wanted to change that.” In the new concentration, the Senior Research course will be replaced with a course titled Engineering Design Project, in which students will complete an engineering-focused project.

Beginning with the start of the 202223 academic year, the CSB and SJU Physics Department will offer a new concentration in engineering. The department currently offers both a physics and applied physics concentration. This change will involve

changing the name of the applied physics concentration to engineering physics and adding three new engineering courses to the curriculum: Introduction to Engineering; Introduction to Prototyping; and Computer-Aided Design, and

The changes reflect strong interest in engineering from prospective students. They also go along with a dual degree partnership already in place with Washington University in St. Louis, which began in the 2020-21 academic year. In that partnership, CSB and SJU students who complete prerequisites and maintain a minimum GPA can apply for automatic admission to that school’s McKelvey School of Engineering. 3

NEWS

New Experience Hub Consolidates Student Opportunities CSB and SJU have long emphasized the impact and importance of experiential learning for our students. By combining four student-facing offices into one consolidated location, the new Experience Hub makes sorting those options a more comprehensive process. The four components of the Experience Hub include: • Experience & Professional Development (XPD) – a multifaceted department providing personal and professional support at each stage of a student’s academic career. • Center for Global Education – an office charged with connecting students to the many study-abroad and international exchange programs offered at CSB and SJU, as well as helping them access teaching abroad options and other on-campus global learning opportunities.

• Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholars – a research and creative work resource offering support, mentorship and competitive fellowship advisement to students. • Fleischhacker Center for Ethical Leadership in Action – an office that supports the formation of ethical women leaders by connecting students to experiential learning and mentoring programs they might not otherwise have discovered or had access to. These experiences can be life-changing and are often the capstone highlight of a student’s college journey. Making access to them convenient and attractive is a powerful tool for current students and a strong recruiting draw for prospective students. “This is really a one-stop shop,” said Sabrina Gilchrist, outreach and Hub ambassador manager at the Experience Hub.

Honoring CSB Award Recipients CSB Reunion Award Winners Honored A highlight of this summer’s two Reunion weekends will be the CSB All-Class Dinners and Celebrations, where Reunion Award winners – from class years ending in 1, 2, 6 and 7 – will be recognized.

Honorees for the 2-7 Reunion include: Brigid Shea ’77, Distinguished Alumna Award winner Shea is the Travis County Commissioner in Texas, where she has been a pioneer in fighting climate change on a local, regional and global level. Giavana Bain Jones ’02, Benedictine Service Award winner Dr. Bain Jones is a staunch advocate for education in the Bahamas to help overcome generational and systemic challenges that fuel cycles of poverty. Jackie Hayden ’12, Decade Award winner As a college counselor in Brooklyn Center (Minnesota’s most diverse city per capita), Hayden helps first-gen students navigate the road to and through higher education. Jona (Turner) Van Deun ’92, S. Emmanuel Renner Service Award winner – Van Deun is a trustee on the

Common Boards of CSB and SJU. She is a frequent mentor and advocate for current students, especially women and BIPOC students in political science.

Honorees for the 1-6 Reunion include: Deanna Suilmann ’76, Distinguished Alumna Award winner – Suilmann is an engineer, a teacher, a Science Olympiad coach and a passionate advocate of women in STEM. Patricia Schmitt Mische ’61, Benedictine Service Award winner – Dr. Mische is a writer, educator, advocate and activist for peace and the environment. Among many accomplishments, she successfully negotiated with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Shannon Preston ’11, Decade Award winner An Episcopal priest, Preston is Chaplain of the Community of St. Anselm in London, a program where young people of all Christian backgrounds experience a year of monastic life. Laurie Rivard ’81, S. Emmanuel Renner Service Award winner – Rivard is a past CSB trustee, Alumnae Board president, co-chair of the Twin Cities Alumnae Association chapter and volunteer for countless committees.

Action Steps for Saint Ben’s Sustainers Saint Ben’s Sustainers are donors who make automatic monthly gifts providing a predictable powerhouse of scholarship funds. Even small monthly gifts make a tremendous impact – especially when an extra $1, $2 or $3,000 may be all it takes for a young woman to say “yes” to Saint Ben’s. The collective impact of Sustainers allows about 90 Bennies each year to pursue their dream of a Saint Ben’s education. This year, we’re upgrading this giving experience to Sustainer 2.0. The enhanced experience includes special perks, membership into an exclusive community of givers and the opportunity to pay your gift forward in a truly sustainable way. To bring that point to life, for every Sustainer who enrolls by June 30, 2022, we’ll plant a tree on the Saint Ben’s campus.

Current Sustainers For current Sustainers making recurring gifts through a credit card, this platform shift means we need you to confirm your data. Because we value your security and confidentiality, we are not transferring data automatically. New Sustainers Now is a wonderful time to become a Sustainer. We’ll plant that tree in your honor and you’ll also get a fun set of custom notecards designed by Maggie Eli ’17. Visit givecsb.com/sustainers today!

Honoring SJU Award Recipients Johnnies Earn Alumni Achievement Awards Eight Saint John’s University graduates have been selected as the 2022 contingent of recipients for the Alumni Achievement Awards. Candidates from the graduation classes ending in 2 and 7 were eligible for nomination for the awards, which will be presented at the awards dinner June 25 in Guild Hall as part of Reunion weekend.

This year’s recipients include: Dick Howard ’72 – Howard is a health care, philanthropy and community leader with over 38 years of experience in non-profit leadership and governance. David Taylor ’72 (posthumous) – Taylor, who died in 2020, was an attorney and minister who loved assisting youths, orphans and the mentally challenged with their health and legal problems. Mark Thiel ’77 – Thiel spent his professional career in the service of those with developmental disabilities and continues to do so in his retirement. Jim Carey ’82 – Carey is an attorney and president and managing partner of SiebenCarey, one of Minnesota’s largest personal injury law firms.

Brian Lenzmeier ’92 – Lenzmeier is president of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, where he previously served as a biochemist, provost and vice president for academic affairs. LeRoy Popowski ’97 – Popowski is an optometrist and a top-level cyclist/duathlete who competed for the U.S. National Duathlon Team at the World Cup and World Championships. Joe Koopmeiners ’02 – Koopmeiners is a Mayo Professor, head of the division of biostatistics at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and an internationally regarded researcher. Eric Stenberg ’02 (posthumous) – Stenberg, who died in 2018, spent his career at high schools in Minnesota and California and as an AmeriCorps volunteer in New York and New Orleans. Alumni Achievement Awards are given annually by Saint John’s to recognize significant achievements by alumni. Recipients are chosen by the Alumni Association board of directors from a pool of nominees from the alumni at large.

Bruess Leads Imagine the confluence of a rich, storied history and a promising future filled with possibility. Think about a milestone and a landmark in higher education, both in Central Minnesota and across the nation. Embrace the potential of a bold new chapter in the innovative direction of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.

Brian Bruess has already done all of that, and he can’t wait to play an integral role every step of the way. “We’re going to demonstrate to the world unapologetically how powerful, contemporary and relevant the CSB and SJU mission traditions are,” said Bruess, who on March 15 was introduced as the first president to serve both Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s. “I am fully inspired by the two institutions and their willingness to be innovative,” Bruess said, “and humbled 6

to be invited to join you on this bold journey.” CSB and SJU are similarly inspired to have the vibrant Bruess as president during the implementation of the Strong Integration framework. “Brian characterizes the perfect inaugural president,” said LeAnne Matthews Stewart ’87, chair of the CSB and SJU Common Boards of Trustees. “He already has a deep appreciation of our unique position as a college for women and a men’s university.”

Added Bennett Morgan ’85, co-chair of the CSB and SJU Presidential Search Committee and trustee of the CSB+SJU Common Boards: “Our search committee could not be more excited to see how Brian and our team unlock the potential of these two institutions while advancing our mission to educate and develop both women and men.” Bruess, who has been president of St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, since 2017, assumes his dual role as

president of CSB and SJU July 1. It’s a huge step for two storied institutions that cemented their legacies side by side for more than a century, but still have the vision and courage to forge an innovative new national model together. It’s also a huge step for the new president’s family: the academically renowned Brian and Carol Bruess, their uniquely motivated kids Tony (25) and Grace (21), their 87-pound Bernedoodle puppy and their elderly 6 1/2-pound Yorkie. They’ve all been working a long time to get where they are.

Carol is Professor Emerita of Communication and former Director of Family Studies at the University of St. Thomas, an active scholar of relationship communication and a highly sought speaker with a popular TEDx-Minneapolis talk. She is also an accomplished author with five published books and two more underway. “Her research expertise is marriage and family communication, and having our own relationship and family grounded in research, as well as our Catholic faith, explains the strength of our family and the happiness of our relationship,” Brian said. “With Carol

being a marriage researcher, that makes me a good-sized guinea pig and my marriage a fruitful petri dish.” Bruess’ research in his Ph.D. work focused on gender and college student development, work that has become integral elements of his academic career. “My research was on moral reasoning and identity formation of collegeage students,” he said, “examining questions about holistic student learning and development: How do women and men develop a sense of identity, mature interpersonal relationships and self-confidence? How do they develop the cognitive capability

Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s Into an Exciting Future By Dave DeLand

Roots of a Legacy Brian Bruess (it rhymes with “peace”) and Carol (Sessler) Bruess were placed in the same orientation group in the fall of 1986 at St. Norbert College, where their joint educational, professional and ultimately familial journey began. “Our first official date was on Oct. 22, 1986,” said Bruess, who wisely has committed the milestone to memory. “We dated for six years and have been married for 30.” Both graduated from St. Norbert in 1990 and segued to Ohio University, where their master’s and doctoral degrees set the tone for their careers in higher education. 7

strong governance at SNC,” Bruess said. “So, one of the things that’s attracted me to Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s is there are two institutions that have really thought about the question of governance. I look forward to helping refine our governance and following through on the bold vision that’s been set forward. “I’ve been paying attention to Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s for almost 30 years now. To have an opportunity to join these incredible communities on this journey is beyond humbling.”

An Exciting Future The institutions that Bruess began following three decades ago will officially become entrusted to him July 1. He’s thrilled to assume these roles for myriad reasons.

Carol and Brian Bruess have shared their marriage, their two children and their educational direction for 30 years. to make good choices?

21 percent decline.

“That early research transformed my entire trajectory – how I think about leadership and how I think about higher education.”

“St. Catherine, as a comprehensive women’s university, absolutely shaped who I am as a person – as a lifetime partner to Carol, as a parent, and how I engaged with the faculty, staff and students of both St. Catherine and St. Norbert,” Bruess said.

Nearly 22 years of Bruess’ educational career was spent at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, where from 1995-2017 he went from dean for student affairs to vice president for finance and business operations to vice president for enrollment management and information technology to executive vice president and chief operating officer at the prestigious women’s institution. That period also included unprecedented enrollment growth of 27 percent at St. Kate’s when enrollment at women’s colleges nationally had seen a 8

“My experiences at both SNC and St. Kate’s have everything to do with why the vocational call to join CSB and SJU was so strong, and so clear.” Bruess’ tenure as the eighth president of St. Norbert included record enrollments, and also mirrored some of the most important elements being implemented at CSB and SJU under Strong Integration. “We’ve spent a lot of time building

“There are many reasons why, of course,” Bruess said. “But if I were to pick my top four they would be, in no particular order, my and Carol’s great admiration for CSB and SJU; the communities’ unapologetic focus on the unique educational and lived experiences of women and men, and the incredible outcomes each institution is producing; the Benedictine wisdom and values, both timeless and contemporary; and of course the liberal arts. “Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s are both in positions of great strength already. And what an honor it is to join this community, one that was also ready for a new way of thinking about itself during a very challenging time in American higher education.” While not officially taking office until July 1, Bruess is getting a crash course on the environment and the positions he’s inheriting from Transitional Presidents Laurie Hamen and Jim Mullen at CSB and SJU. “It’s full-on learning and listening, being a student again of these two fine

institutions and working to understand what’s important – what are people worried about, where are the fears, where’s the excitement? Then, we begin the essential next chapter of work together, always following the will and desires of the communities,” Bruess said. There’s a lot to learn. Details of the Strong Integration system include the dual presidency, the CSB and SJU separate Boards of Trustees that feature the same individuals and officers, a streamlined administrative structure and day-to-day operations with a chief operating officer. Not everything is familiar, nor will all of the changes be uniformly accepted and embraced from the outset. Bruess is very cognizant of that. “Strong Integration is going to be our new CSB and SJU reality, so we have to think carefully and mindfully about and manage the change for both communities,” he said. “Some constituents are excited about Strong Integration and others are holding a little fear and worry. When you think of change and transition, we need to remember it comes in phases. Not everybody’s at the same spot.

two boards and two colleges coming together is profound. “One of the things that is going to characterize the next many years at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s is to what extent are we willing to create an environment, in the spirit of innovation, where faculty, staff and students are encouraged to and rewarded for taking risks and trying new things,” Bruess said. “These next six to 12 months of strategy building will involve talking with and listening intensely to the faculty, staff and students, discovering what highimpact practices are going to help produce even better outcomes and lead to the flourishing and educational growth of our students.” It’s a big job. Actually, it’s two. With the biggest challenge of his career lying ahead at Saint Benedict and Saint John’s, Bruess can’t wait to get started. “The stakes are pretty high,” he said. “The expectations are pretty high. “So, now we deliver on them.”

“I suspect we’ll be working our way through these phases of change for some time. And as we do that, as we get familiar with what that means and what it doesn’t mean, we’ll see the power of it. We’ll see the value of it.”

Born July 2, 1967, in Monroe, Wisconsin

Education: B.A. in sociology and psychology, St. Norbert College, May 1990; M.Ed. in college student personnel, Ohio University, June 1992; Ph.D. in college student personnel/research and evaluation, Ohio University, June 1995

Professional experience: St. Catherine University, Nov. 1995-March 2017 (chief operating officer, executive vice president, dean of student affairs and enrollment management, vice president for finance and business operations); president, St. Norbert College, July 2017-current

Family: Married Carol Jean Sessler Dec. 13, 1991, in Milton, Wisconsin; son Tony (25), daughter Grace (21), dogs George (huge young Bernedoodle) and Fred (tiny old Yorkie)

Values have been the purpose and foundation of every stop in Bruess’ academic leadership career, from Ohio to St. Catherine’s to St. Norbert. It is exactly what he wants it to be at CSB and SJU. “There are high expectations, and rightfully so,” he said. “The boards and monastic sponsors are thinking about governance for the long term, for sustainability and vitality and health and flourishing, and that generative type of governance is rare. To see it with

The Brian Bruess File

Hobbies: Kayaking, fat-tire biking and walleye fishing George, the Bruess family’s 87-pound Bernedoodle, has aspirations of therapy dog status and serving college students. 9

Coming Together By Frank Rajkowski

Strategic and bold. Agile, innovative and nimble. Those are the words the leadership of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University Common Boards choose when describing what benefits will accrue from Strong Integration – the title used to describe the two schools’ new governance and leadership structure.

Since January, CSB and SJU have operated under two boards made up of one set of common members. And in March, Brian Bruess, Ph.D., was announced as the first president of both institutions. When he takes office in July, he will find a streamlined, more integrated administrative leadership structure waiting.

“The governance structure we had worked for a long time,” said LeAnne Stewart ’87, the chair of the CSB and SJU Common Boards. “But the world has continued to move at an ever-increasing pace, including in higher education. We have to be able to move at an ever-increasing pace as well. “When you think about two presidents, two cabinets and two boards, and how that worked in the process that surrounded important decisions – we were just getting in our own way.”

LeAnne Stewart

Bennett Morgan

“The biggest thing I think people will see is that the speed of the decisionmaking process will increase,” added Bennett Morgan ’85, the vice chair of the Common Boards. “I don’t want to say gridlock won’t be allowed, but under the old model, you could retreat to your respective corners if you felt passionate about something. And most people feel passionate about most things. As a result, a lot of the decisions got to be very hard. “There was always some level of negotiation, or a sense of loss or trade. What’s going to happen now is that the same people will be together in an environment that drives collaborative discussion and collective decisions. And we’ll be able to move forward more strongly and boldly in the marketplace.”

ORIGINS Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s have long shared a unique cooperative relationship. Students have

attended classes together on both campuses since the 1960s. Academic departments have been combined since the 1970s, and the institutions share a common curriculum, single academic calendar and identical degree requirements. The idea that eventually became Strong Integration arose out of discussions initiated by the CSB and SJU Boards of Trustees in the fall of 2018.

“The topic first came up when we were talking about what our next steps would be,” recalled Barb Brandes, who was chair of the CSB board until January. “We all saw there is a cliff coming in 2025 when the population of potential college students greatly decreases (as a result of the lower birth rates that accompanied the Great Recession of 2008). Both boards decided these weren’t decisions we could make alone in a silo. We really needed to know what our coordinate team was thinking on the other side of the woods.” “From that conversation, we decided that four or five key members of each board would go to the other and try to explain what we were thinking when it came to looking toward the future,” added Dan McKeown ’85, who was chair of the SJU board until January. “We wanted to know if the Saint Ben’s board 12

had the same concerns we did, and to find that out you have to talk to each other.” Those discussions expanded to involve both boards in their entireties and suddenly just about everything was on the table.

“Was it going to be the same?” Brandes asked. “Was it going to be a complete merger? Was it going to be a complete separation? What was it really going to look like as we prepared ourselves for the future? How could we make sure we were as nimble and effective as we needed to be so we could thrive? “We appointed a team to start looking into it and they did a deep dive across the whole higher education landscape. They went out and talked to all sorts of different institutions that had gone through all kinds of changes. They talked to hundreds of people before they were all done. “They came back and said we’re not better as one, because there are unique things about each school we don’t want to lose. But we’re not better separate either. Our strength is our liberal arts education. Our strength is our faculty. Our strength is this feeling that once you’re here, you’re always a Johnnie or a Bennie. “We had to figure out a way to work together to lean into those strengths,” Brandes continued. “That meant the boards had to change, starting at the top. We had to figure out how to listen and communicate better with each other, how to be as concerned about the other campus as we are our own and ultimately how to trust each other much more deeply. And that’s what really led to this single, defined structure that is Strong Integration: a single president and two boards made up of the same members working together.”

Barb Brandes

Dan McKeown 13

Jim Mullen

Laurie Hamen

Eugene McAllister

GETTING THERE

Both McKeown and Brandes stressed this is not some temporary compromise on the road to a complete merger, a concept the two schools discussed and rejected in the late 1960s.

“I don’t think this is middle ground,” Brandes said. “I think we were actually somewhere in that middle ground before. We’ve now advanced ourselves to a better place. “We don’t see this as a temporary stop. We actually think this is the very best model for our two schools, not a stepping stone to something different. “No one is coming into this in a position of weakness,” she continued. “It’s very forward-looking, and we believe if we do this right, it will really be a national model – even if not many schools are in the unique situation that we are to put this into place.” “This will be very different,” McKeown said. “It will allow a single leader to look at the two places, take what’s best about both of them, then go out and own the market for what Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s do well. Our hope is that the execution of those sorts of big ideas will be able to move much faster than it has in the past.” A key step in the process was securing approval for the new governance structure from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the school’s institutional accreditor. That came in November 2021. Another huge piece was making sure strong leadership was in place on campus in order to pave the way for what is to come. To that end, board members credited the efforts of Marilou Eldred and Terry Dolan, who were the chairs of the SJU and CSB boards when the process started, as well as the CSB and SJU Presidents at the time – Mary Dana Hinton and Michael Hemesath ’81. They were also effusive in their praise of the work done by current CSB Transitional President Laurie Hamen and SJU Transitional President Jim Mullen, as well as the efforts of Eugene McAllister, who served as SJU’s Interim President from 2019 to 2021.

“I don’t know that you can find the right words to describe how important Laurie and Jim, and before that Gene, have been in helping the boards envision not only what Strong Integration is, but also how to effectuate it,” Stewart said. “They have been doing, and will continue to do, a lot of the work around defining what the administrative structure of the institutions will be and how the cabinet will look. “But they’re not going to make all the decisions. They fully intend to involve Brian in those decisions as well, so that he feels like he has a key voice in shaping the new role he is going to be taking on.”

INTO THE FUTURE

Morgan said there may be a few bumps along the way, but in the end, this new integration will leave both schools in a much better place.

“Our faculty had to go through this 40 years ago,” he said. “And if you talk to some of those who went through that, they’ll tell you it took some time but they came out of the process better for it. “We can be together and still be separate. It’s like a marriage. Just because I’m married to my wife doesn’t mean I lose my own identity or who I am as an individual. But the power of the two of us coming together is something far greater than I ever could have achieved on my own, so I don’t know that anything is going to be lost here. I think a whole lot is going to be gained. “Never before in the history of these institutions has a president had at their disposal the power and alignment to essentially drive a leadership agenda for both schools,” Morgan continued. “These two schools have arguably punched above their weight for decades because of the Coordinate Relationship. But you still have never gotten the full resources and energies of both places working in tandem. Now that we do, we’re expecting the new president to build a compelling, bold and distinct strategy for both schools moving forward.” Morgan and Stewart both said they hope such a strategy leads to increased vibrancy and growth – in enrollment, in academic programming, in the community impact of both schools and in many other areas as well.

“These schools are going to have one CEO in the single president and he is going to run them both,” Stewart said. “(The Common Boards) will be a resource to help Brian be effective. But he is in charge of creating the vision and strategy for the two schools moving forward. And we will hold him accountable toward doing that. “We know this is an incredible opportunity. This is a singular moment in time and what this means for the future is boundless.” 15

Strong Integration is not a merger. It’s not an acquisition. But it’s not simply a rebranding. So what IS it?

“A thing of What is it we’re trying to accomplish? And are we blurring the line between us? Because, once you do, you’re just like everyone else.

What’s the advantage of a single president?

The single president is the thing that makes me feel like there might be a loss of identity. How does that one person not play favorites or bring their personal biases into play? 16

One of the reviewers from the Higher Learning Commission may have put it most simply. There’s a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in our new governance structure called a “statement of disparate impact.” It guides the actions of the new Common Boards in addressing situations that will impact one institution differently/more than the other. (And, really, those are the situations that are most frightening, right?) After carefully studying this MOU, the reviewer described it plainly as “a thing of beauty.” That’s the degree of thought and discernment that has gone into creating this structure. Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s are not merely doing this. We’re carefully approaching this to do it well. That’s the big picture. But, to help fill in some more gaps, we reached out to alumnae, alumni and members of our community to get at some of the questions you have about the future. …

beauty” This is not a merger – in either sense: We’re not merging institutions and transferring assets. And we’re not merging missions and losing the distinction of our combined roles. Quite the opposite, actually. We’re heading into an era of stiff competition in higher education. And one of the keys is going to be distinction. What makes you unique? Special? Better? For Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict, that distinction has come in our shared Catholic,

Benedictine heritage. It’s come in our commitment to the broad critical thinking skills that grow in the liberal arts, and the intense personal development that results from a residential experience. Just as importantly though, our distinction comes from the relationship of an undergraduate college for women and an undergraduate college for men – related, integrated, but separate. Strong Integration is us doubling down on those distinctions and positioning ourselves to carry them into the future with strength.

We foresee a few of them: • Greater alignment of efforts between the institutions and a single voice speaking on behalf of the community. • Efficiencies that allow for greater investments in strategic priorities. • An environment in which each institution has latitude to create environments for women and for men and for those who identify outside the binary, and accomplish our unique and special missions.

This is a tough question because there’s no way to provide an absolute answer. President Bruess will certainly bring his own point of view to this role. But a broad-based search committee filled with representatives from multiple campus constituencies had those concerns as well. This

was a crucial part of their vetting and selection process. This magazine may not be able to reassure you – but the interview process was able to reassure 21 people who love these two schools that Brian Bruess can represent them both.

Why can’t we just keep doing what we were doing? The Coordinate Relationship worked for decades.

Does the money get combined? Is this one college rescuing the other? How is this going to position us better for challenges in higher ed?

Are we in danger of closing?

Is streamlining the administrative structure going to save any money? What are things we’ve decided are important to keep separate?

Did it though? The answer to that is probably, “Yes, but.” Yes, the Coordinate Relationship was unique and we have been two respected, successful institutions under it. But, using the fast-changing circumstances around COVID responses for an example, has the Coordinate Relationship been efficient? When posting a community-wide email involves twice as many meetings and conversations and

back-and-forth check-ins? Not really. There are real challenges ahead involving demographics and increasingly fierce competition in higher education. CSB and SJU are strong and healthy – but we’re going to need to be nimble and agile as well. For all its strengths, the Coordinate Relationship was neither nimble nor agile.

No. No assets change hands. We’re still operating under the same financial model we’ve been operating under. We will always have two CFOs that will handle our endowments and our revenues separately. We are two separate 501(c)(3)s.

Three things: 1. A universally informed set of members for both boards will let our trustees make timely decisions without unintended consequences. 2. A clear executive leader – a strategic thinker and strategic executor – will be able to drive us toward those strategies. President Bruess will give us greater alignment of efforts and a single voice on behalf of the community. 3. A streamlined leadership team, with executives who are more empowered to address problems rather than elevate them, will improve our operations daily.

Not any more than any other college or university right now. Which is to say, no, but we still take this climate seriously. Small colleges. Single-sex colleges. Religiously affiliated colleges. Colleges in rural areas. These are all categories that have been hard hit in the last 50 years –

and even more so in the last 10. We need to be clear-eyed about that. That’s an important reason why, even though both Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s are currently healthy and strong, it’s important that we search for efficiencies and position ourselves to respond quickly to opportunities.

Yes. We believe a more integrated administrative system will result in not only savings outright, initially, but also savings over time. And it will let us shift to create some new positions that are needed right now. So there

will be changes and differences in what our top-level administrative staff looks like when President Bruess takes office on July 1. With challenges ahead for everyone in higher education, saving money is a prudent idea.

At Saint Ben’s, the intentional development of women – specifically as leaders – is a crucial part of what we do. That must remain. Likewise, Saint John’s remains committed to giving students the opportunity to learn what it is to be both a leader and a man of character. Our role as a college for

men gives us chances for making that happen that most schools just don’t have. Campus Ministries will continue to operate separately. Student governments will continue on both campuses. And, of course, residence halls, student development and athletics will remain separate on the two campuses.

How did we select members for the new Common Boards?

How will the boards operate?

Does this essentially take the Abbey and the Monastery out of the decision-making process? How do we keep from losing the spiritual uniqueness of these places when we don’t have that involvement any more? What can we do as alums to help?

Common Boards Chair LeAnne Stewart ’87 explained: “We started with doing a poll of which of our existing trustees wanted to be part of the world of Common Boards. Because it was going to be a very different world. That poll also looked at the areas of interest and expertise for each of those trustees.” Common Boards Vice-Chair Bennett Morgan ’85 added: “We had a very experienced governance consultant that shepherded us through the process. So we had some best practices. And we formed a very intentional discernment

Right now, board members are going through a pretty extensive formation program. A person who started out as a Saint Ben’s trustee needs additional information to get up to speed and make great decisions about Saint John’s – and vice versa. All that is critical for board members to operate in what is a really unusual fiduciary environment. They have been trained and know that they have a responsibility to both

This year will mark 10 years since the separate incorporation of Saint John’s University and Saint John’s Abbey. Last year we passed 60 years since the College of Saint Benedict was separately incorporated from Saint Benedict’s Monastery. And, for alums who studied here under faculties that were largely monastic, things on campus look very different. The Abbey and the Monastery, however, remain the spiritual guiding lights for both institutions. And that

Talk about us to the young students in your life. Make sure they’re aware of the amazing experiences available to them as Johnnies and Bennies. In this magazine there have been several references to the current and coming drop in numbers of traditional-aged students. Help us reach the ones you know. If you value the education you received, make sure they know about it.

group – of which a few members were not going to be considered for re-election. That helped us keep an unbiased perspective. “We were very thoughtful about keeping things balanced between institutions at that point. And we’d like to think that as we go forward, it’ll be less a thing of ‘I’m a Saint John’s and LeAnne is a Saint Ben’s person … and more that we’re just ‘we.’ Building and maintaining that is the role of our board norms going forward.”

schools. They take all votes separately, so they’re voting as a Saint Ben’s trustee and then a Saint John’s trustee – at separate times. The memorandum of understanding on issues of disparate impact that was mentioned earlier is really the key. It lays out a very particular way that board members will deal with decisions when one institution is impacted in a larger way than the other. And all trustees have assented to it.

relationship remains codified in our new governance structure. Our new Common Boards include five “Corporate Members” from the Abbey and five from the Monastery. Their job is to promote and champion the Benedictine aspects of our institutions. And there are key board decisions that, per bylaws, belong to those Corporate Members. For hundreds of years we have looked to our founding order for wisdom and spiritual guidance. That will not change.

And, of course, you can always make a gift to your alma mater. Alum participation and giving still impact the independent college rankings that give us national exposure. Plus, we rely on alumnae giving to Saint Ben’s and alumni giving to Saint John’s to help us make sure that future Bennies and Johnnies are able to choose us.

The Good Fight for By Dr. Jim Hundreiser

Dr. Jim Hundreiser is the inaugural vice president for consulting and business development at the National Association of College and University Business Offices (NACUBO). At NACUBO, he matches higher education institutions with new strategies that focus on growing revenue, building capacity, providing pragmatic solutions, conducting operational assessments and increasing student success and completion. He offers these observations on higher education and CSB+SJU’s role in it. 22

Shared Services There is a demographic cliff on the higher-education horizon, with fewer children born in the early 2000s leading to several hundred thousand fewer students to enroll. Shifting demographics mean there are fewer traditional-age students in the market, fewer of those students have the ability to pay for traditional four-year education, and among some of those students there’s a growing perception that college is no longer a worthwhile investment. Our world is rapidly changing and most higher education institutions are moving too slowly. Thought leaders like Nathan Grawe (The Agile College), Arthur Levine (The Great Upheaval) and Mary Marcy (The Small College Imperative) have all stated that for institutions to sustain themselves, they must seek new modes of operating or completely reengineer themselves.

In many cases, those opportunities are presenting themselves in a shared-services model. Few would argue with the idea of pooling resources and sharing strengths in order to reduce costs and improve services for students. Almost everyone seems to argue about how to do it. The simple idea of a shared-service model becomes very complicated, very quickly. There are no common definitions, few effective case study examples, and many institutional leaders touting unproven new partnerships with promises of cost savings if strategies work out. The reality is, few shared-service partnerships today are maximizing the partnership or pushing to increase the efficacy of these programs or providing any significant cost savings. The financial challenges many institutions are facing today are real. Most institutions (nearly all, in fact) are tuition-dependent. Smaller private and regional public institutions are significantly tuitiondependent, with some small and mid-size privates relying on tuition and fees for 80-90% of all revenues. 23

And, as reliant as schools are for that tuition, fewer families today have the ability to pay it, due to increases in tuition that have significantly outpaced inflation. At the same time, many colleges and universities have opted to fight for those scarce students by engaging in an amenities arms race – which has sparked a building boom that has increased operating costs … which, in turn, has caused increases in tuition. It’s a real conundrum. Some institutions are at risk of closure if they do not change the way they operate. Now is the time to respond to these challenges. States like South Dakota, Connecticut and Pennsylvania have started the process of merging their public institutions because of projected declining enrollments. Vermont has taken the most aggressive steps of any state and is in the process of merging almost all of its state institutions. These states are looking at ways to merge institutions, but not close campuses. The goal is to create greater efficiency while allowing students to remain connected to their local or regional area and fill state job and economic needs. The process, however, is messy, complicated and filled with conflict.

public institutions, the mission is often to serve the region and provide the skills needed for agriculture, mechanical operations and teachers. For most privates, the mission usually aligns with religious affiliations and seeks to ensure graduates who live out those values in the future. The need to hold onto mission may be the leading reason why institutions close rather than explore other ways to operate. Well-intentioned leaders can start out looking for formalized partnerships to serve the needs of the 21st century student. But after watching and reading about the experiences of others – painful stories of conflict and damaged campus culture – they end up sticking with the strategies of the top 500 institutions. The result of avoidance generally means continuing with a culture of cost cutting, putting more burden on faculty and staff who are trying to carry the mission forward in ways that are unsustainable … but are sustainable enough to survive another year.

[CSB and SJU are] never giving up on the relationship and how this will better serve students

At the root of the conflict – almost always – is institutional mission. Many public and all private institutions were created with a mission that leads their way forward. For 24

There are glimmers of hope though. Some institutions have found successful ways to partner that have led to increased efficiency, more opportunities for students and new ways to offer academic programs where start-up costs or additional faculty hires would have been challenging. One example is the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Minnesota. For almost 60 years

these two institutions have found ways to collaborate and coordinate. The key to their success might be that they chose to do the hard part first: academics. Processes require careful coordination. For CSB and SJU, they aligned calendars, agreed on costs for transferred credits, coordinated course offerings and eventually combined departments. Ultimately, the two schools seamlessly blended academic offerings into what is today a single curriculum under a joint provost. But those fights were as close to bloody as two Catholic, Benedictine schools are likely to get. And they stuck with it, even when it was messy. Too often in education, we don’t work through the messy. Right now, with an eye toward the demographic cliff, the two schools are choosing to align even closer. They are streamlining administration, have aligned their trustees into “common boards” made up of the same members, and recently announced the first president to serve both institutions. These are significant changes for significant efficiencies. But they’re possible because both institutions have remained committed to making it work. Never merging. Never forsaking their individual identities. But never giving up on the relationship and how this will better serve students, allow for more flexibility, and provide opportunities to remain vibrant for decades to come. The result of any shared-services model should be the

opportunity to leverage infrastructure, technology, tools and services in ways that serve students. Infrastructure and technology are two areas that have seen significant increases in cost with no new revenues to support them – especially the costs related to technology. As the CSB and SJU example demonstrates, there are ways to implement shared models that create meaningful savings and significant improvements to serving students. Models could include two (or more) institutions starting new academic programs to leverage resources, facilities and start-up costs. Or they could provide student support services that are both in-person and online. Real savings and improved student outcomes happen when institutions align programs and services students want or need. Shared-service models will reduce administrative costs over the long term so that funds can be provided for missioncritical priorities. The reality is, moving to these types of models is the future, even if the challenges are profound. Institutions need to create an infrastructure that supports shared governance and allows for careful analysis, but commits to taking action with tight deadlines. It takes leaders with the vision to see what’s possible. But it takes campus communities willing to stay engaged and endure the process. This is no longer a hypothetical construct for institutions to debate in the abstract. It is a way for many, potentially most, small, private institutions to operate in the future while continuing to live their missions and fulfill their goals.

A Better Path

Strong Integration is a thoughtful response to the current and pending landscape of higher education. It’s an innovative evolution from our Coordinate Relationship, which was an innovative evolution in its own rite. So how did we end up on that path that has led us to this point? Did CSB and SJU ever consider just merging? As it turns out, yes, we did. Content quoted is from “An Interinstitutional Cooperative Higher Education Program of Two Benedictine Institutions: CSB and SJU, 1962-1980,” by S. Firmin Escher, OSB (CSB Director of Planning and Research), in 1981. only a few faculty were moving between campuses.”

1962 By November 1962, SJU President Fr. Arno Gustin “asked for a meeting of the presidents, academic deans and registrars of both colleges to discuss possibilities of sharing some resources for the mutual benefit of both colleges.”

S. Firmin Escher, OSB

1950s “In the early 1950s, the faculties of the two Sociology Departments, recognizing the strength of their respective faculty members in their departments, arranged that one or two courses be offered on both campuses. In two other departments, an English and art professor from the College of Saint Benedict taught courses on the Saint John’s University campus. So far, 26

Mary Grell appointed a Joint Summer Study Curriculum Committee to look closer at cooperation and smoothing out some of the rough spots.

1967 In September 1967, Fr. Colman and S. Mary appointed a Co-Institutional

1963-64 The trial year for that was 1963-64. “A tuitional figure for a credit hour was agreed upon by administration and an exchange of actual tuition dollars occurred at the end of each semester.” That first year, about 80 Bennies traveled to SJU and 46 Johnnies traveled to CSB.

1965 For the summer of 1965, SJU President Fr. Colman Barry and CSB President S.

Fr. Arno Gustin

following motion was made and seconded:

“Be it resolved that the joint Boards of Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict today declare the desirability of a merger, to take place within the next thirty months, and that the Boards engage immediately in the hiring of a coordinator for this task; the final decision on the merger is to be made not later than thirty months from this date.” Study Committee to work with consultants like Lewis B. Mayhew of Stanford University. “What really happened in that momentous year reverberated through every segment of both campuses as the benefits of this commitment to share resources began to unfold.”

And so, with the appointed coordinator, Dr. Sylvester Theisen, nudging, prodding and frequently pleading, the two schools set off down that one road. In 1969 the Registrar’s office was united. The libraries combined some services under a joint head librarian. Academic departments continued (some with more success than others) inching closer together.

1968

1970

The Mayhew Report of 1968 had some bold things to say: “Our panel has thought most seriously about the problems of the two institutions and has reached the unanimous conviction that merger of the two into a new corporate entity is the only plausible solution. Thus, we recommend that the two institutions merge and merge quickly. We believe to delay more than two years would so irreparably damage either or both institutions that ultimate merger or cooperation would no longer be possible.”

Still, in 1970, “By the end of the coordinator’s second year, the thirtymonth deadline to realize a possible merger was fast approaching. There

Fr. Colman Barry

A few weeks later, the Board of Trustees of the College of Saint Benedict and the Board of Regents of Saint John’s University met jointly at Saint John’s Abbey to make a decision on the proposal of the consultants. The

Dr. Sylvester Theisen

was considerable unrest among constituencies of the institutions – trustees, some administrators, and particularly the presidents about an impending merger. The issue was addressed again and it was agreed that a high degree of coordination was advisable but a merger would destroy the identity of each institution. There was some anxiety about losing that uniqueness which each institution believes is essential to its own identity and purpose. There were equally strong beliefs that coordinate institutions could realize an effective solution toward achieving the goal reiterated so many times over an eight-year period. And so the idea of merger was ruled out and a high degree of coordination between two autonomous institutions was determined as the goal.” That was the end of merger talk. Some might call it stubborn. Others might call it faithful. Either way, it has led to 50 years of Johnnies and Bennies learning and living together in our own unique format. The results speak for themselves and no one in this process has been interested in disrupting that part of our magic.

S. Mary Grell 27

JOHNNIE SPORTS

Fall/Winter Scorecard CROSS COUNTRY SJU finished third at the 2021 MIAC Championships and ninth out of 31 teams at the NCAA North Regional. Lloyd Young ’24 and Andy Goldsmith ’22 earned All-MIAC honors by finishing third and eighth, respectively, at the MIAC Championships, and were All-Region (top 35) in fifth and 26th two weeks later at the NCAA regional. Young placed 52nd at the NCAA Division III Championships Nov. 20.

FOOTBALL Saint John’s (11-1, 8-0 MIAC) won its MIACrecord 35th conference title and made its 31st postseason appearance last fall. The Johnnies were ranked No. 8 in the final national polls. Wide receiver Ravi Alston ’21 was named the MIAC Most Valuable Player, the 21st Johnnie to earn the award and the first receiver since Blake Elliott ’03 in 2002 and 2003. Defensive lineman Seth Morem ’21 shared the MIAC’s Most Outstanding Lineman award with Gustavus Adolphus’ Zach Jakes. Morem is the 10th Johnnie to win the award and third consecutive (tackle Ben Bartch ’20 in 2019 and defensive lineman Nathan Brinker ’19 in 2018). The Johnnies tied a school record with 11 student-athletes named to the AllMIAC first team: Alston, Morem, linebacker Erik Bjork ’23, defensive lineman Metoriah Faoliu ’22, offensive tackle Tyler Johnson ’21, linebacker Kyle Kornovich ’21, tight end Alex Larson ’23, wide receiver Matt Mohr ’22, center Nick Neumann ’21, running back Henry Trost ’22 and defensive lineman Michael Wozniak ’22. Head coach Gary

Fasching ’81 was named the MIAC John Gagliardi Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season, and fifth time in his nine-year tenure. Safety Mateo Cisneros ’24 was awarded the prestigious MIAC Elite 22 Award, which is given to the studentathlete with the highest GPA among those who played in the MIAC Championship Game. Alston was named an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (second team), Associated Press (second team) and D3football.com (third team). Neumann also received second-team honors by the AP, while Wozniak was named to the D3football.com All-America first team and Larson was named to the fourth team. Johnson, Trost and Wozniak also earned College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America honors.

GOLF SJU won its second consecutive conference title (14th overall) at the 2021 MIAC Championships. The win clinched the Johnnies’ 19th appearance at the NCAA Division III Championship. All five Johnnies finished in the top 10 at the MIAC Championships to earn All-MIAC honors. Nate Loxtercamp ’24 finished second, Sam Berger ’24 tied for fourth, Glavine Schugel ’24 placed sixth, Blake Schuler ’24 tied for seventh and Thomas Gutzmer ’23 claimed 10th. Loxtercamp also earned the MIAC’s Elite 22 Award for men’s golf, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA among the All-MIAC honorees.

SOCCER The Johnnies finished sixth in the MIAC with a 4-6 record (8-9-1 overall) and made their 10th trip to the semifinals in 11 MIAC Playoff appearances. Goalkeeper Evian Siefken ’25

was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region IX third team and midfielder Matt D. Anderson ’23 earned All-MIAC first-team honors. Defender Aidan Becken ’23 was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team.

BASKETBALL Saint John’s (23-5, 17-2 MIAC) won its second consecutive MIAC regular-season championship (10th overall) and third consecutive MIAC Playoff title (eighth overall). The Johnnies made their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in a row and ended the regular season ranked No. 24 nationally. Post Zach Hanson ’21 returned for the 2021-22 basketball season thanks to the NCAA granting student-athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He earned D3hoops. com and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-Region 9 second-team distinctions and was named to the sixman All-MIAC first team for the second consecutive season. Hanson ended his career 17th in program history with 1,168 career points. Pat McKenzie ’04 was named the MIAC men’s basketball Coach of the Year for the second time. Wing Ryan Thissen ’24 was named to the All-MIAC second team and earned the MIAC Elite 22 Award for men’s basketball, which is presented to the individual with the highest GPA among tstudent-athletes who played in the MIAC Playoff Championship Game. Freshman guard Kooper Vaughn earned All-MIAC third-team honors and was also named to the five-man MIAC All-First Year team. Vaughn broke SJU’s singleseason record for made three-pointers by a freshman (53 by Chris Schwartz ’11 in 2007-08) with 70.

HOCKEY The Johnnies finished third in the MIAC with a 9-4-1 record (17-8-2 overall) and made their fourth consecutive appearance in the MIAC Playoffs. Mac Berglove ’21

returned for the 2021-22 season and earned CCM/AHCA Division III All-America West Region honors. The 24th Johnnie hockey All-American and the first since fellow goaltender Saxton Soley ’16 in 2012-13, Berglove ended his career third in program history in GAA (2.18) and fourth in save percentage (.924), and posted a 30-169 record and five shutouts. He signed a professional contract with the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs March 6. Berglove and four other Johnnies were named to the All-MIAC first team: forward Lewis Crosby ’24, forward Auggie Moore ’23, defenseman Jack Olsen ’24 and defenseman Peter Tabor ’23. Forward Spencer Rudrud ’25 was named to the six-man MIAC All-Rookie team.

SWIM & DIVE SJU finished second out of six teams at the 2022 MIAC Championships. Eli Grabinski ’25 was named the MIAC men’s Diver of the Year after he won both diving events, while Connor Reed ’23 placed second on both boards. Both divers competed at the NCAA Central Regional in Michigan. Joe Koller ’23 also won two conference titles. He became the first Johnnie to win the 100-yard backstroke since 2012 (Logan Arnold) with a school-record time of 50.88 seconds. He won his second conference championship with a school-record time of 1:51.44 in the 200-yard backstroke. The time shattered the record he set earlier this season by nearly three seconds (1:54.24) to become the first Johnnie to win the MIAC title in the event since Luke Vestrum ’03 in 2000.

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD The Johnnies won four events and totaled 15 All-MIAC performances en route to its first MIAC indoor championship. Maguire Petersen ’23 was named the MIAC men’s Outstanding Field Athlete and head coach Jeremy Karger-Gatzow earned Coach of the Year honors. Petersen won the MIAC heptathlon with a school- and conference meet-record total of 5,118 points, which was deemed the MIAC’s outstanding performance of the meet. He went on to achieve All-America distinction with a sixth-place finish in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division III Championships. Petersen, Eli Mollet ’23, Lloyd Young ’23, Michael Wallace ’22 and the Johnnies’ distance medley relay (Tommy Allen ’24, Brady Labine ’22, Alexei Hensel ’23, Mitch Grand ’23) earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-North Region accolades. Mollet joined Petersen at nationals and finished 12th in the weight throw. Allen earned the MIAC’s Elite 22 Award.

WRESTLING A young SJU team finished with an 0-4 dual record in 2021-22 and competed at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional. Ben Gilbertson ’24 led the Johnnies with a 21-14 record (15-9 against Division III competition) between 174 and 184 pounds, while Logan Thorsten ’25 went 16-10 (115 vs. Division III) at 149/157.

BENNIE SPORTS

Fall/Winter Scorecard BASKETBALL The Bennie basketball team wrapped up the 2021-22 season 15-11 overall and 11-10 and in fifth in the MIAC. CSB started the season 6-0, including a big home win over a tough Bethany Lutheran squad early in the season, and hosted a first-round MIAC Tournament game before falling in the MIAC Quarterfinals. Head coach Mike Durbin won his 700th game with the Bennies on Nov. 23 when the team beat UW-Superior 61-54. Point guard Carla Meyer ’24 earned All-MIAC honors after leading the team in scoring all season. She finished in the top 10 in the MIAC in points and assists per game. Madison Doran ’22 earned AllDefensive Team honors, and both Sophia Jonas ’25 and transfer Gabby Martin ’23 were named All-MIAC Honorable Mention.

CROSS COUNTRY The CSB cross country team competed for the first time since 2019 this past fall, and took advantage of every opportunity on the course. The Bennies finished in the top five at six of the eight meets they competed in, including a fifth-place finish at the 2021 MIAC Championships. Fiona Smith ’24 made history as the program’s third MIAC Champion and MIAC Athlete of the Meet. She broke the program 5K and 6K records, and took fifth at the NCAA Championships to earn All-American honors – the fifth All-American in program history and the first for the Bennies since 2005. Emily Demorett ’23 and Tracy Renier ’22 also moved into the top-10 in program history in the 6K after big meets at the Lewis & Clark Invite in Oregon.

GOLF Saint Benedict finished in fifth at the 2021 MIAC Championships. Rainy conditions shortened the tournament by nine holes, but that didn’t slow down Emily Renner ’24, who tied for third individually to earn the second All-MIAC honor of her career. She shot a careerbest 74 in the third and final day of the tournament, and teammates Sami Boerboom ’25 and Grace Hillemeier ’22 also shot 77 or better on the final day of competition. The Bennies won the Georgianni Blugold Invite in September thanks to top-15 finishes from Georgia Hinton ’25 and Hillemeier and a tie for first from Renner.

HOCKEY Saint Benedict reached the double-digit win mark for just the seventh time in program history in 2021-22. The Bennies finished 10-12-1 overall and 6-7-1 and in sixth in the MIAC, and made the conference tournament for the second time in program history. CSB beat Hamline for the first time since 2015, and went on a four-game winning streak mid-season – the team’s longest since 2008-09. Defender Jenna Timm ’25 earned a spot on the All-MIAC First Team and the All-Rookie Team after finishing eighth in the league in assists and top 20 in points. She is the team’s first FirstTeam honoree since 2016-17. Annika Brodt ’22 and Zoe Culshaw-Klein ’22 earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention.

SOCCER The Bennies made their first appearance in the MIAC title game since 2013 in November after finishing second in the league. CSB finished the year 11-4-3 overall and 8-1-2 in the MIAC, and wrapped up the year with a 1-0 loss to St. Kate’s in the conference championship game. Roxy Veldman ’22, Ella Young ’24 and Chloe Miller ’23 earned All-MIAC First Team honors – the most first-team honorees for CSB since 2014. Miller later earned United Soccer Coaches All-Region Third Team honors, and Abby Willenbring ’24 was named the MIAC Elite 22 Award winner for maintaining a 4.0 GPA and also contributing as one of the team’s top midfielders.

SWIM & DIVE The Bennie swim and dive team came out ready to compete in 2021-22, and by the end of the season, set eight school records and recorded 15 other times in the top 10 in program history. Ana Birklid ’22 led the way with four individual CSB records and was also part of three relay records at the MIAC Championships. She earned All-MIAC thanks to a secondplace finish in the 200 backstroke and helped the Bennies finish fifth at the conference meet. Fiona Rosko ’23 set another school record, two other top times in CSB history and earned All-MIAC in both the 400 IM and 200 breaststroke. Lindsay Smutka ’24 took second in the 100 backstroke to earn All-MIAC and Birklid teamed up with Jes Milstroh ’23, Jocie Larson ’24 and Emi Wagner ’24 to take third in the 200 free relay – the program’s first All-MIAC relay team since 2011-12.

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD The CSB track and field team saw records fall throughout the 2022 indoor season. Fiona Smith ’24 added to her total with records in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs, and won conference titles in both events at the 2022 MIAC Championships. She broke the 35-year-old MIAC record in the 3K, and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in both races with times in the top five in Division III. Kate Gallagher ’24 and Maggie Beckmann ’22 both broke records at the team’s final home meet of the year – Gallagher in the 60-meter dash and Beckmann in the weight throw. Gallagher took second in the 60 at conference and Beckmann was third in the weight throw, and both earned All-MIAC accolades. Justus Floren ’25 took second in both the high jump and pentathlon, and Steph Pickthorn ’22 finished third in the pentathlon.

VOLLEYBALL A young Bennie volleyball team played a tough schedule in 2021 – nine of the team’s first 11 opponents were ranked in Division III. The team finished the year 7-14 overall and 5-6 and in sixth in the MIAC, and earned a spot in the conference tournament. CSB’s biggest win of the year was a 3-1 win at Cal Lutheran – which was receiving votes in Division III at the time – in September on CLU’s home court in California. Outside hitter Gabby Heying ’23 earned AllMIAC First-Team honors after finishing eighth in the league in total kills.

CLASS NOTES

CSB MILESTONES 1983 Donna Davis Oliver retired after 30+ years of service with Amtrak, Sept. ’21.

1984 Jamie Stanton Moloney was hired as director of pastoral outreach by The Catholic Cemeteries in the Twin Cities to promote them as the preferred parish resource for training, catechesis, consulting services and programs related to the end of life continuum, Oct. ’21.

1986 Wendy Wencl Ryan was hired as the director of surgical services at Riverwood Healthcare Center (Minnesota), Sept. ’21.

1988

Michelle Kujawa Isham was reappointed to the Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing’s East Central Advisory Committee in St. Paul, Sept. ’21.

1990 Suanne Drews Barthol earned a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Dec. ’20. She is employed as an assistant professor at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Terri Giyan Kallsen was elected to a three-year term, beginning Jan. ’22, with the board of directors for Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., Nov. ’21. The board is the policymaking and oversight body of CFP Board and acts on behalf of the public, CFP professionals and other stakeholders.

1991

Robin Balder-Lanoue won the BreakingBarriers award in the National Girls & Women in Sports Day event in St. Paul, Dec. ’21.

1998 Dena Meyer started a new position as president of Lifestyle Communities (Minnesota), a company focused on real estate development, Sept. ’21.

1999 Carrie Abfalter is the director of donor relations for the Central Minnesota Community Foundation in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Sept. ’21. Amy Karlson Frie graduated with a master’s degree in Romance languages from the University of New Orleans, Dec. ’21.

1999 Donniel Johnson Robinson was hired by the Initiative Foundation as its entrepreneurship programs officer in Little Falls, Minnesota, Dec. ’21.

2000 Maxine Storr-Seymour was sworn in as a senator in the Bahamas, Oct. ’21.

2002 Katie Studer Roers has been honored with the 2021 Top Women in Finance award for Minneapolis, Sept. ’21. Katie is employed with Variant Insurance.

2005 Andrea Dowd started a two-year term as president of the board of APRA-MN (Association for Professional Researchers for Advancement) in St. Paul, Dec. ’21. Johanna Hatch earned a Master of Science in nursing from Frontier Nursing University in Versailles, Kentucky, and was certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board as a certified nurse midwife, July ’21. Sara Palmitessa earned a Master of Business Administration degree from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Dec. ’21.

2006 JaNae Altepeter Teer completed her Ph.D. from the University of WisconsinMilwaukee and is currently a postdoctoral clinical psychology fellow at Fraser in Bloomington, Minnesota, Oct. ’21.

2007 Tara Fasciana Durheim was promoted to marketing director of the Liturgical Press in Collegeville, Minnesota, Oct. ’21. Chelsey Jo Huisman earned a Doctor of Philosophy in business studies from Uppsala University (Sweden), Dec. ’21. The title of her monograph thesis was “Transforming the City of Kiruna: Stabilizing Change and Changing Stability.” Chelsey Jo continues to study organizational and interorganizational change processes, teach at the bachelor and master level, and support practitioners in municipalities in developing their innovative capacity.

2009 Kristen Smude Houle was promoted to signing director at CliftonLarsonAllen LLP in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Nov. ’21. Ashleigh Leitch is an associate general counsel at Jamf in Minneapolis, Sept. ’21.

2012 Lainie Steffen Bailen is retail brand manager-feed and nutrition at Cargill, Inc., in Minnesota, Aug. ’21.

2013 Hudda Ibrahim, co-founder of Filsan Talent Partners, helped write the curriculum for the Somali Heritage Language Program, which helps Somali

students to retain the Somali language, learn about their cultural identity, and also learn English.

2014 Ashley Welters Kruse was promoted to director at CliftonLarsonAllen LLP in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Nov. ’21. Bridgette Springer graduated with a Master of Science degree in international educational development from the University of Pennsylvania, Dec. ’21.

2015 Erin Wilson Wee created saint images to emphasize the diversity of saints for Nativity of Mary Church in Bloomington, Minnesota, Nov. ’21.

2017 Nicole Argudin was accepted into the Master of Divinity program at Loyola University Chicago, Fall ’20.

2018 Bailey Fowler was recognized as teacher of the year at Grandview Middle School in Mound, Minnesota, Nov. ’21. Morgan Kessler Russek is a part of the Rural Physician Associate Program for Welia Health, Mora, Minnesota, Nov. ’21.

2020 Regan Haegele was promoted to talent advisor at Katapult Network in Minneapolis, Dec. ’21.

2021 Anne Marie Griebie was awarded the Minnesota Psychological Association’s 2021 Donald G. Paterson Undergraduate Award in Psychology, Sept. ’21.

CSB MARRIAGES 1975 Mary Ann Becker to Arthur Lindeland, June ’21

2000 Katrina Lusty to Daniel Daly, Oct. ’20 2011 Pa Nhia Lee to Yeng Yang ’11, April ’21 Megan Wolf to Zachary King, June ’21

2012 Heather Hamilton to Jo Simonett, Aug. ’21 Abby Hansen to Brett Landrum, Aug. ’21 Heather Jaqua to Christopher Stevermer, Sept. ’21

2013 Melissa Mehaffey to Kyle Larsen, May ’21 Gretchen Osdoba to David Kirkhoff, Aug. ’21

2014 Meghan Battista to Andrew Mueller ’14, Oct. ’21 Meghan Carda to Ben Hueper, Oct. ’21 Brittney Poganski to Jon Kraayenbrink, May ’21

2014 Arianna Stotz to David Marschall ’14,

2019 Shelby-lyn Schneider to Chad

Jan. ’21

Henle ’12, Sept. ’21 Briana Ziemer to Ryan Schreurs, July ’21 Madelyn Zinken to Benjamin Youngs, Nov. ’20

2015

Martha Boyle to Sean McDonaugh, Nov. ’21 Hannah Klinnert to James Sowa, Aug. ’21 Elizabeth Twardowski to Ryan Zeilinger, Oct. ’21 Jenna Weber to Dominic Reed, Aug. ’21

2016

Meghan Carter to Nathaniel Johnson ’16, Oct. ’21 Kaitlin Hellendrung to Ian DeVaan ’16, Aug. ’21 Jenna Humbert to Joshua Loso ’16, Sept. ’21 Laura Peterson to Agustin Cano ’15, Oct. ’20 Nicolette Russell to Nathan Porttiin, Sept. ’21 Elizabeth Wolfe to Matthew Lerick ’16, Oct. ’20

2017 Kendra Butkowski to Joseph McGraw ’17, July ’21 Anne Gleich to Andrew Morley ’16, Aug. ’21 Jacqueline Koenig to Luke Stangler, Oct. ’20 Caitlin McGoldrick to Jared Grootwassink ’17, Nov. ’21 Katie Nosbush to Ryan Emanuelson, Aug. ’20 Grace Pouliot to Derek Lodermeier, July ’21 Jennifer Serrato to Reibel Ramirez ’19, May ’21 London Stelten to Luke DeBenedetto, Sept. ’21 Leah Thomas to Thomas Pinataro ’16, May ’21 Vanessa Voigt to Paul Kohner ’17, Aug. ’21

2018

2019

Allison Cwikla to Samuel Valerius ’18, Oct. ’21 Sarah Fetter to Thomas Olson, Aug. ’21 Emily Goerdt to Parker Hagen ’17, Oct. ’21 Anne Johnson to Taylor Knight, July ’21 Morgan Kessler to Andrew Russek ’18, Sept. ’21 Stephanie Anderson to Michael LaFave, June ’21 Amanda Graff to Greg Dalzell, July ’21

2009 Sarah Pokorny Johnson & Adam Johnson ’09, boy, Arlo, Aug. ’21 Kathryn McMurray & Daniel Haller ’09, boy, Matthew, Oct. ’21 Abby Milton Turbes & Ryan Turbes ’09, boy, Jayce, Feb. ’21 Lauren Hall Wittrock & William Wittrock ’06, boy, Hugo, Aug. ’21

2020 Shelby Gapinski to Tyler Sandeen, Oct. ’20

2021 Jenna Stott to Samuel Rohret ’21,

2010 Amanda Fuller Groethe & Carey Groethe, boy, Everett, Oct. ’21 Katherine Ellis Selewski & Karl Selewski, girl, Caroline, Nov. ’21

June ’21

CSB BIRTHS/ADOPTIONS 2000 Katrina Lusty Daly & Daniel Daly, girl,

2011

Emily Anderman Greenlee & Jesse Greenlee, girl, Willa, Dec. ’21 Emily Masters & Daniel Bier, boy, Hugh, Dec. ’21

2012

Kayla Solum Geib & Michael Geib ’12, girl, Thea, June ’21 Kristin Donner Weber & Adam Weber ’12, girl, Madeline, Nov. ’21

Aubrey, Sept. ’21

2001 Shannon Hogan Grazzini & Tony Grazzini ’01, boy, Lucca, Feb. ’21 Sarah Boser Moore & David Moore ’01, girl, Charlotte, April ’20 Jody Barrett Zylstra & Joseph Zylstra, boy, Deacon, Sept. ’21

2003 Kate Johnson Doubler &

2013 Kirstie Harmdierks Hall & Joshua Hall, boy, Henry, Dec. ’21 Brenna Miland Pekarna & Joseph Pekarna ’13, girl, Charlotte, April ’20 Lisa Fenske Shaw & Stephen Shaw, boy, Arlo, May ’21 Kylie Stanfield & Chavron Larmond, girl, Layla, Sept. ’21

Luke Doubler ’03, girl, Matty, July ’21

2004 Laura Burgett Burtzel & Richard Burtzel ’04, boy, Brady, Oct. ’21

2005 Stephanie Burgess Breckenridge & Mark Breckenridge, girl, Matilda, Aug. ’21 Melissa Williams & Frederick Owusu, twin girls, Willa & Winifred, Oct. ’21

2006 Gail Anderson & Bret Anderson, boy, Mason, April ’21 Kelly Wach Gully & Christopher Gully, girl, Grace, Nov. ’21 Andrea Meuleners Henle & Steven Henle ’06, girl, Adeline, May ’21 Kathryn Kalkman & Gabriel Harren ’10, boy, Benson, Oct. ’21 Blanca Munguia & Jon Guimont, boy, Jack, Oct. ’21 Megan Clairmont Nelson & Jonathan Nelson ’06, girl, Simone, Sept. ’21 Dana Lyndgaard Schneider & Kris Schneider ’04, boy, Jacob, Dec. ’21 Hailey Wachlarowicz-Bayer & Noah Bayer, boy, Landon, Sept. ’21

2008

Emily Pearson Bly & James Bly, girl, Ruby, July ’21 Emily Coborn & Tobin Wright, girl, Livia, Nov. ’21 Susan Lipp Cox & Taylor Cox, boy, Callahan, April ’21 Kristi Curry Hill & Jeffrey Hill, girl, Ramsey, April ’21 Sarah Roth Von Ruden & Anthony Von Ruden ’08, boy, Jack, Oct. ’21

2014 Alexa Bollig Lambert & Cody Lambert, boy, Jameson, Aug. ’21 Tasha Daniels Perry & Andrew Perry, girl, Madeline, Oct. ’21 Kelsey Jacobson Rathmanner & Maxwell Rathmanner ’14, boy, Connor, Jan. ’21 Amanda Linn Roles & Tyler Roles ’14, girl, Ainsley, Sept. ’21 Angela Stevens Schlangen & Dustin Schlangen ’13, boy, Owen, Sept. ’21

2015 Megan Machesky Borisov & Roman Borisov, boy, Ruslan, Sept. ’21 Stephanie Mercado & Jack Bergman, boy, Hunter, Oct. ’20 Carolyn Bedford Torgerson & Michael Torgerson ’15, girl, Florence, Aug. ’21

2016 Amy Bechtold Gans & John Gans ’13, girl, Janey, Sept. ’21

2017 Mariah Zamzow Burroughs & Brian Burroughs ’17, girl, Maeve, Feb. ’21

2018

Cassandra Miedema Schumer & John Schumer ’15, girl, Grace, Dec. ’21 Taylor Kraemer Winberg & Kyle Winberg, girl, Ellie, Oct. ’20

2019

Mary Lara Ahles & Jacob Ahles ’19, girl, Felicity, Sept. ’21

CLASS NOTES

CSB DEATHS

1967 Jeanne Seger Volz, Feb. ’21

1934 Mariel Wilmes, OSB, Aug. ’02 1941 Odila Busche Myott, mother of

1969 Richard DuHamel ’63, spouse of

Marilyn Myott Berg ’69, Kathleen Myott Sellnow ’79 & Patricia Myott ’83, July ’21

1942 Mary Zeimentz, OSB, March ’01 1947 Catherine Drahmann, May ’21 1948 Phyllis Plantenberg, OSB, Oct. ’21 1951 Marion Mondeau Fogarty, Sept. ’21 1953 Patricia Madigan Webster, Oct. ’16 1954 Jane Schmid Ruether, mother of Mary Ruether Kampa ’79, Kathleen Ruether Mattson ’80 & Susan Ruether Eickhoff ’82, Dec. ’21 Louise Richardson Stangl, March ’21

1957 Richard Donohoo, spouse of Catherine

Kathleen Berle Wonzer, Jan. ’19

Bosch, Feb. ’20 Lorraine Melcher, mother of Kathleen Melcher Mummert, Mary Kay Melcher Mans ’75 & Ann Melcher Leuthner ’79, Oct ’21

Harriet Steen Aarhus, June ’08 Juliana Klein, Nov. ’21

1963 Caroljene Topel Dagit, mother of Lori Dagit Wendt ’96, Nov. ’21 Carol Christopherson Hallamek, Aug. ’21 Hilda (Yvette) Keller, OSB, Oct. ’21

1964 Kathryn Becker Lange, Oct. ’21 John “Jack” Riebel, son of Joan Strom Riebel, Dec. ’21

1965 Roger Schweich, spouse of Suzanne Shaw Schweich, Sept. ’21

1966 Mary Igers Arndt, mother of Amy Arndt Lindell ’92, Dec. ’21 Richard Froehle, spouse of Eileen Sullivan Froehle, Oct. ’21

1967

Agustin Briguet ’67, spouse of Mary Ann Murphy Briguet & father of Christine Briguet Wallace ’90, Oct. ’21 Mary Stilwagen Meinardus, Dec. ’20 Mary Grubish Rooney, Aug. ’20

1982 Jennifer Annonson, Nov. ’82 Sheila Coy, mother of Elizabeth CoyBurgeson, Nov. ’21 Edna Hart, April ’18 Matthew Lieser, son of Judy Kalthoff Lieser, Dec. ’21 Ann Griffin, mother of Kathleen Griffin Sommerville, Oct. ’21 Sybil Strachan, May ’10 Coral Stubbs, April ’19 Leo Wisdorf, father of Lisa Wisdorf, Aug. ’21

Shirley Loehr, mother of Cynthia Loehr Jameson & Debra Loehr Eisenstadt ’89, Nov. ’21 Connee Theisen, Oct. ’21

1975 Melvin “Joe” Berg ’65, spouse of Theresa Meyer Berg, Dec. ’21 Mary Lou Jameson, mother of Anne Jameson Cronin, Oct. ’21 Thomas O’Brien, father of Charlene O’Brien Kelzer, Peggy O’Brien Schley ’76 & Paula O’Brien Germscheid ’82, Sept. ’21 Joan Kreuzer, mother of Mary Kreuzer Marlow, Sept. ’21 David Mascarenas, spouse of Marie Menart Mascarenas, Jan ’21 Meredith Strong-Anderson, Dec. ’20

Janzen Hughes, father of Mary Hughes Coulter ’83, Katherine Hughes Cashman ’85 & Rachel Hughes Bonin ’92, Sept. ’21

1962

Barnes, Teresa Ryan Lassegard ’83 & Kathleen Ryan Nisbet ’88, Sept. ’21 Veronica Fust, mother of Margaret Fust-Olson, Nov. ’21 Gertrude Schaubach, mother of Jean Schaubach-Harnish, Sept. ’21 Marcella Kilbride, mother of Sheila Kilbride Schusterich, July ’21

1974 Aloisia “Luise” Hiemenz, Nov. ’21

Rosemary (Dominic) Lenneman, OSB, Nov. ’21

Marguerite Foley Anderson, mother of Paula Anderson ’89, Aug. ’21 John “Jake” Lynch ’57, spouse of Jane Opatz Lynch, Dec. ’21 Vivian Marczak Ritchie, Sept. ’21

1981 Mary Ryan, mother of Mary Ryan

1972 Eileen Steinhoff Burkhart, Dec. ’20 1973 Roland Bosch, spouse of Shirley Olson

1959 Keith Hughes ’58, spouse of Julie

1960

Oct. ’21

Ruth Roehl DuHamel & father of Ann DuHamel ’96, Nov ’21

Serie Donohoo & father of Gwendolyn Donohoo Barreiro ’86, June ’21

1958

1980 Harry Waller, father of Susan Waller,

1976

Lando Kutzke, father of Barbara Kutzke Feterl & Connie Kutzke Dilts ’78, Dec. ’21

1983

1984 Charles Claude, father of Carol Claude Granger, Nov. ’21 Lois Engerski, mother of Margaret Engerski Wiehoff, Sept. ’21

1985 Norma Nuessmeier, mother of Kristine Nuessmeier Bach, Elaine Nuessmeier Cronk ’87 & Karen Nuessmeier ’88, Aug. ’21 Marie DePauw, Sept. ’21 Daniel Brott ’60, father of Lisa Brott Kalkman & Susan Brott ’92, Nov. ’21 Karin Remington, July ’21 Dorine Lehn, mother of Barbara Lehn Simpson, Nov. ’21

1977 Charlotte Ward Fisher-Notch, Sept. ’15 Mary Spartz, mother of Marjorie Klein, OSB, Nov. ’21 Karen Lee, Sept. ’21 Patricia Noehring Montplaisir, Nov. ’21 Rose Thielman, mother of Jeanne Thielman Rotert, Sept. ’21

1979 Audrey Esterley Jarosh, mother of Paula Jarosh Romportl, July ’21 George Yoos, spouse of Mary Tausk Yoos, Dec. ’21

1980 Robert Feldhege, father of Patricia Feldhege Carruth, Nov. ’21 Bernadette Nord Christiansen, Nov. ’21 Iris Halloran, mother of Susan Halloran, Dec. ’21 Mary Jane Moline, Sept. ’21 Donald Kalkman ’49, father of Jane Kalkman Murphy, Dec. ’21

Elizabeth Wolf, mother of Mary Halloran Bartek, Dec. ’21 Betty Knutson, mother of Linda Lian Evavold, Dec. ’21

1986

Mary Loizeaux, mother of Lynette Loizeaux Koopman, Nov. ’21 Darlene Schmidt, mother of Terri Schmidt Obermiller, Nov. ’21

1987 William Brimmer, father of Karen Brimmer Chartrand, Nov. ’21 Alvin Kern, father of Julia Kern Sheffield, Sept. ’21 Francis McShane, father of Erin McShane Tesch, Aug. ’21 David Huberty, father of Debra Huberty Wetrosky & Sandra Huberty Vetsch ’89, Sept. ’21

1988 Lorraine Wenner, mother of Susan Wenner Hengel, Dec. ’21

1988 Michael Kane, father of Cheryl Kane, Dec. ’21 Herman Feldstein, father of Laura Feldstein Moore, Nov. ’21

1998 Monica Stegman Luckett, Nov. ’21 1999 Marjorie Burton Noonsong, mother of

1989 Joan Moser, mother of Kris Moser

2000

Heinen, Sept. ’21

Sarah Myott, Dec. ’21 Jessica Hamman Peterson, Nov. ’21

1990 Ronald Gould, step-father of Rachael Tolson Gould, Sept. ’21 Florence Hinnenkamp, mother of Anne Hinnenkamp Kenney, Dec. ’21 Gary & Barbara Swenson, parents of Coreen Swenson Lenzmeier, Dec. ’21 Wayne Larson, father of Tracy Larson Magner, Sept. ’21 Sharon Kirchner, mother of Gina Kirchner Shaughnessy, Sept. ’21

1991 Royce Morrissette ’65, father of Jennifer Morrissette Hesse, Dec. ’21 Constance DeBuhr, mother of Amy Debuhr Muehlbauer, Nov. ’21 Aloys Kunkel, father of Julie Kunkel Murphy, Nov. ’21 David Reese ’59, father of Lisa Reese Newenhouse, Nov. ’21

1992 Kathleen Ryan, mother of Shannon Ryan Sass, Aug. ’21

1993

Bruce Adams, father of Megan Adams Brooks, Oct. ’21 Gary Herron, father of Heather Herron Christenson, Oct. ’21 Thomas Schlichting, father of Erika Schlichting Egli, Sept. ’21 Ronald Buntje, father of Karla Buntje Kelley, Dec. ’21

1994 Denise Keller, mother of Kristi Keller O’Keefe, Oct. ’21 Regan Smith, spouse of Elizabeth Farrell Smith, Sept. ’21 Robert Rau, father of Jennifer Rau Sunder, Nov. ’21

1996 Linda Rakotz, mother of Joan Rakotz

2002 Barbara Barlau, mother of Melissa Barlau Black & Michelle Barlau Goodman ’03, Sept. ’21 Cindy Collins, mother of Nicole CollinsKwong, Dec. ’21 Richard Morgan, father of Jennifer Morgan Westerhaus, Dec. ’21

2004 James Bestick, father of Rachel Bestick & Lindsey Bestick Knapp, Dec. ’21 Therese Franklin, mother of Emily Franklin Haley & Laura Franklin Erchul ’08, Oct. ’21 Stephen Nunnink, father of Erika Nunnink, Dec. ’21

2006

Elfering, Sept. ’21 Kathleen Boone, mother of Mary “Ellie” Boone Langlas, Nov. ’21

2008 Marguerite Burke, mother of Catherine Burke Arellano, Dec. ’21

2011 David Bennetts, father of Courtney Bennetts Van Vickle, Oct. ’21

2015 Leck Sengsoulichanh, father of Karuna Sengsoulichanh, Sept. ’21

2019 David O’Brien, father of Erin O’Brien, Oct. ’21

SJU MILESTONES 1958 Dr. Russ Reiter, an internationally renowned research scientist at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, was awarded an honorary doctorate from The National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina last November.

1997 Royce Nies, father of Shannon Nies &

1969 Fr. Bob Flannery (SJU ’69, SOT ’72, Sem ’73) has been elected to the Board of Trustees for the Parliament of the World’s Religions. His three-year term began Jan. 1.

1998 Edward McLean, father of Wendy McLean Alvarez & Karen McLean Tengwall ’99, Sept. ’21 Michael Connelly, father of Beth Connelly, Oct. ’21 Michael Keable, father of Allison Keable Driggins, Nov. ’21

Ellen Hurley, mother of Erin Hurley Sylvester, Dec. ’21

2007 Vaughn Zoller, father of Amber Zoller

Klaphake, Aug. ’21 Tiffany Nies Heathcote ’04, Oct. ’21 Joel Montpetit ’65, father of Aimee Montpetit Topp, Oct. ’21 Charles Torborg, father of Laura Torborg Peichel, Nov. ’21

Stephen Meemken, father of Michele Meemken O’Conner, Dec. ’21 Harold Sunderman, father of Heidi Sunderman Schloe, Dec. ’21

1975

Denny Bracco has been selected to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as an official for the 2022 induction class.

1988 George Maurer was featured in a Feb. 3 story in the Minneapolis StarTribune titled “Hear what four Minnesota composers did with their $25K McKnight Fellowships.”

1995 Chad Forkrud has been promoted to president of Citizens Alliance Bank in Clara City, Minnesota, by its Board of Directors.

2002 Matt Weber has been promoted to President of OneSource Distributors at Sonepar USA in Charleston, South Carolina.

2004 Kristien Butler was named as the new director of St. Paul’s Department of Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity by Mayor Melvin Carter, Dec. 10. Ryan Weinandt coached his DasselCokato High School to the Minnesota Class 3A football state championship Nov. 27. Weinandt also was an all-MIAC defensive tackle and member of the 2003 Saint John’s University football team that won the NCAA Division III national championship. Matt Bergmann was honored by Minnesota Monthly in 2021 for the sixth straight year as a Minnesota 500 Honoree as CEO of Laketown Electric Corporation.

SJU MARRIAGES 1986 Stacy Kuhlman to Fred Stein, Sept. ’21

2004 Elizabeth Czupta to Bach Parker, Aug. ’21

2006 Jessica (Faucher ’08) to Cullen Johnson, June ’21

2011 Pa Nhia (Lee ’11) to Yeng Yang, Apr. ’21

2012 Shelby (Schneider ’19) to Chad Henle, Sept. ’21 Isis to Brock Schwanke, Sept. ’21

2014 Britany (Billiet ’14) to Josh Erickson, Dec. ’21 Arianna (Stotz ’14) to David Marschall, Jan ’21 Meghan (Battista ’14) to Andrew Mueller, Oct. ’21

2015 McKenzie Deprez to John Benson, Sept. ’21 Sydney (Schleif ’15) to Burleigh Biel, June ’21

CLASS NOTES

2015 Katelyn Kuechenmeister to Blake

2019 Haley (Thelen ’18) to Nathan Brinker,

2008 Sarah (Roth ’08) & Anthony Von

Boran, July ’21 Lea Pollack to Michael CulshawMaurer, Jan. ’21 Kari Haynes to Kyle Lamb, July ’21 Annie (Luke ’15) to Billy McCue, June ’21 Marisa (Johnson ’17) to Chase Myhran, Aug. ’21 Brittany Foti to John Schwend, July ’21

Dec. ’21 Jennifer (Serrato ’17) to Reibel Ramirez, May ’21

Ruden, boy, Jack, Oct. ’21

2020 Sarah Miller to Michael Koich,

Brittany & Brian Herrig, boy, Callan,

2016 Kaitlin (Hellendrung ’16) to Ian DeVaan, Aug. ’21 Meghan (Carter ’16) to Thanny Johnson, Oct. ’21 Lizzy (Wolfe ’16) to Matt Lerick, Oct. ’21 Jenna (Humbert ’16) to Josh Loso, Sept. ’21 Anne (Gleich ’17) to Andrew Morley, Aug. ’21 Leah (Thomas ’17) to Thomas Pinataro, May ’21 Callie (Stark ’18) to Adam Reznick, June ’21

2017 Hannah (Esselman ’18) to Ryan Calton, Dec. ’21 Caitlin (McGoldrick ’17) to Jared Grootwassink, Nov. ’21 Emily (Goerdt ’18) to Parker Hagen, Oct. ’21 Vanessa (Voigt ’17) to Paul Kohner, Aug. ’21 Kendra (Butkowski ’17) to Joe McGraw, July ’21 Sydni (Andruskiewicz ’17) to Joseph Rabaey, May ’21

2019 Hallie (Douglas ’18) to Jack Barsody, Jan. ’22 Theresa (Slivnik ’19) to Ben Bierscheid, Aug. ’21

boy, Matthew, Oct. ’21

Oct. ’21 Tammy Joe to Ryan Kropp, Aug. ’21

Oct. ’21 Sara (Pokorny ’09) & Adam Johnson, boy, Arlo, Aug. ’21 Jennifer (Tong ’10) & Chase Kroll, boy, Aiden, Jan. ’22 Abby (Milton ’09) & Ryan Turbes, boy, Jayce, Feb. ’21

2020 Jenna (Stott ’21) to Sam Rohret, June ’21

2021 Kaylee (McGovern ’21) to Andrew Schmelzer, July ’21

SJU BIRTHS/ADOPTIONS

2010 Sienna (Kuhn ’12) & Joel Cherrico, girl, Stella, Jan. ’22 Katie (Kalkman ’06) & Gabriel Harren, boy, Benson, Oct. ’21 Joy (Pohland ’10) & Tim Janssen, boy, Edward, Jan. ’22 Brianna & Mike Koltes, girl, Brooklyn, Nov. ’21 Anne & Drew Percival, boy, Otto, July ’21 Sophia (Nolan ’13) & Adam Sundsmo, boy, Griffin, May ’21

2000 Sara & Andrew Landkammer, girl,

2001

Halle, Sept. ’21 Liz & Matt Logelin, girl, Agatha, Oct. ’21 Shannon (Hogan ’01) & Tony Grazzini, boy, Lucca, Feb. ’21 Sarah (Boser ’01) & David Moore, girl, Charlotte, Apr. ’20

2002 Christine & Paul Thomas, girl, Ivy, Sept. ’21

2003 Kate (Johnson ’03) & Luke Doubler, girl, Matty, July ’21 Liz & Josh Fiedler, girl, Davie Jo, Aug. ’21 Amy & Joshua Weiss, girl, Lucy, Aug. ’21

2011 Beth (Humbert ’11) & Ryan Beckman, boy, Arthur, Aug. ’21 Lauren & Jeffrey Gilbertson, boy, Jacob, June ’20 Katie (Jedlicka ’11) & Jake Sieve, boy, Leo, Nov. ’21 Samantha (Novitsky ’11) & John Vaith, girl, Cambria, Dec. ’21 Ally & Casey Wojtalewicz, boy, Sonny, Sept. ’21

2004 Laura (Burgett ’04) & Rick Burtzel, boy, Brady, Oct. ’21 Dana (Lyndgaard ’06) & Kris Schneider, boy, Jacob, Dec. ’21

2005 Jenn & Mark Hoffman, boy, Austin,

2012 Kelsey (Rose ’12) & Parker Deutz,

July ’21 Johnae & Gevon Moss, girl, Gianna, Aug. ’21 Zoey & Sam Pokorney, boy, Leo, Sept. ’21

2018 Skyler (Hult ’18) to Davis Deanovic, May ’21 Bonne (Tiplet ’18) to Patrick Ellingson, Jan. ’21 Celestina (Rodriguez ’20) to Derek McLaughlin, Sept. ’21 Merdith (Jarchow ’18) to Sam Olson, June ’21 Brianna (Hartke ’18) to Nicholas Pegelow, Sept. ’21 Morgan (Kessler ’18) to Andy Russek, Sept. ’21 Allison (Cwikla ’18) to Sam Valerius, Oct. ’21

2009 Katie (McMurray ’09) & Dan Haller,

2006

Andrea (Meuleners ’06) & Steven Henle, girl, Adeline, May ’21 Megan (Clairmont ’06) & Jon Nelson, girl, Simone, Sept. ’21 Lisa (Wagner ’09) & Jason Vievering, boy, Luke, July ’21 Lauren (Hall ’09) & William Wittrock, boy, Hugo, Aug. ’21

2007 Mylene & Jon Howard, girl, Maeva, Feb. ’22 Maggie & Sam Koelbl, boy, Jackson, Mar. ’21

2008 Stephanie (Deter ’08) & Kevin Crane, boy, Trevor, July ’21 Katie & Tom Freeman, girl, Vivienne, Nov. ’21

boy, Frank, Aug. ’21 Kayla (Solum ’12) & Michael Geib, girl, Thea, June ’21 Kindra (Boelke ’12) & Andrew Ghostley, girl, Mae, Jan. ’22 Karli & John Sloan, girl, Tatum, Nov. ’21 Kelsey (LeClaire ’14) & Joe Smith, boy, Logan, Dec. ’21 Kristin (Donner ’12) & Adam Weber, girl, Madeline, Nov. ’21

2013

Kate (Johnson ’13) & Collin Baker, girl, Elodie, July ’21 Amy (Bechtold ’16) & John Gans, girl, Janey, Sept. ’21 Jordan & Taylor Holthaus, boy, Mack, Sept. ’21 Kate & Bill Jaffee, boy, Wyatt, Oct. ’21 Angela (Stevens ’14) & Dustin Schlangen, boy, Owen, Sept. ’21

2013 April & Jason Wolbeck, boy, Luca, Aug. ’21 2014 Becca & Cameron Atkinson, boy, Cohen, Nov. ’21 Laine (Rajkowski ’14) & Samuel Hines, boy, Hayden, Jan. ’22 Kelsey (Jacobson ’14) & Maxwell Rathmanner, boy, Connor, Jan. ’21 Amanda (Linn ’14) & Tyler Roles, girl, Ainsley, Aug. ’21 Kim & Justin Thompson, girl, Aubree, Dec. ’21

2015 Breanna (Richey ’14) & Tyler Magedanz, boy, Noah, July ’21 Cassandra (Miedema ’18) & John Schumer, girl, Grace, Dec. ’21 Carolyn (Bedford ’15) & Michael Torgerson, girl, Florence, Aug. ’21

2017

Mariah (Zamzow ’17) & Brian Burroughs, girl, Maeve, Feb. ’21

2018 Andrew & Louise Welbig (SOT/Sem), girl, Margaret, Nov. ’21

2019 Mary (Lara ’19) & Jacob Ahles, girl, Felicity, Sept. ’21

2020 Maggie & Jake Schwebke, girl, Amelia, Aug. ’21 Maggie & Leo Weheseler, boy, Justin, Oct. ’21

2021 Peter & Kaitlyn Guzik Kruger (SOT/ Sem), girl, Phoebe, May ’21

SJU DEATHS 1943 David McKenzie, father of Dr. David ’72 and twin brother of deceased John ’43, April ‘21

1944 Betty Keenan, spouse of deceased Charles Keenan and mother of Terry Keenan ’76, Feb. ’22

1946 LeRoy Haugh, Aug. ’20 1947 Wally Pattock, father of Tom Pattock ’73 and brother of deceased Larry Pattock ’39, Dec. ’21

1948 Pearl Lebens, spouse of deceased Robert Lebens and mother of Tim Lebens ’89, Oct. ’21 Rose Mary Thielman, spouse of deceased Sylvester Thielman, Sept. ’21 Kay Vander Horck, spouse of deceased Karl Vander Horck, Nov. ’21

1949 George Hawkins, father of Mark Hawkins ’86 and brother of deceased Eugene ’50, Jan. ’22

1949 Don Kalkman, father of Don Kalkman ’83 and Dan Kalkman ’85, Dec. ’21 Rosemary Kalkman, spouse of deceased Donald Kalkman and mother of Don Kalkman ’83 and Dan Kalkman ’85, Jan. ’22 Joan Kreuzer, spouse of John Kreuzer and mother of Tom Kreuzer ’79, Sept. ’21 LeRoy Steichen, Jan. ’22

1950 Mary Cronin, spouse of Jack Cronin and mother of John Cronin ’76, Aug. ’21 Linus Guggenberger, Jan. ’22 Myra Hagen, spouse of deceased Seraphine Hagen, Jan. ’22 Tom Herzog, Dec. ’21 Ralph Johnson, March ’21 Betty Landsberger, spouse of Gerald Landsberger, June ’21 George Leither, father of Thomas Leither ’76, Oct. ’21 Ruth Polta, spouse of deceased Jacob Polta and mother of John Polta ’79 and Joe Polta ’85, Aug. ’21

1951 Claire Chouinard, spouse of deceased Larry Chouinard, Nov. ’21 Janaan Happe, spouse of Glen Happe, Dec. ’21 Vernon Lahr, father of Kevin Lahr ’82, Nov. ’21 Jerome O’Mara, April ’21 Rev. Arthur Redmond, Sept. ’21 Leon Schneider, brother of Claude Schneider ’52 and deceased Roman Schneider ’45 and Ardwin Schneider ’48, Feb. ’21 James Sturm, brother of deceased Bernard Sturm ’47, Nov. ’21 Jim Terhaar, father of Joe Terhaar ’81, July ’21 Joe Wilfahrt, April ’21 Katie Wimmer, spouse of Bill Wimmer and mother of Willie Wimmer ’85, Jan. ’22

1952 Marilyn Dirkswager, spouse of deceased Dale Dirkswager, Jan. ’22 Jim Ladner, Oct. ’21 Edward O’Brien, father of Hank O’Brien ’81, Aug. ’21 Dr. Thomas Reichert, brother of deceased Edward Reichert ’52, Dec. ’21 Stanley Roeser, Sept. ’21

1952 Ed Schnettler, father of Mike Schnettler ’77, Tom Schnettler ’79 and John Schnettler ’85, Sept. ’21

1953 Geri Bodmer, spouse of George Bodmer and mother of Kevin Kelly ’81, Sept. ’21 Bob Mareck, Dec. ’21 Janet Martin, spouse of deceased Jack Martin, Dec. ’21 John McKenzie, Oct. ’20 Marlin Ramler, Feb. ’22 Lyle Theisen, brother of Rev. Wilfred Theisen ’52 and deceased brother John Theisen ’56, Dec. ’21 Betty Sue Wolf, spouse of Leo Wolf and mother of Walter Wolf ’80, John Wolf ’85, Michael Wolf ’87 and Joe Wolf ’89, Dec. ’21

1954 Sheila Coy, spouse of deceased Don Coy and mother of Sean Coy ’81, Bill Coy ’86 and Tim Coy ’90, Nov. ’21 Charles Drexler, M.D., father of Mark Drexler ’89, Jan. ’22 Dr. Earl Hutchins, Nov. ’21 Bob Martinka, father of Benedict Martinka ’82 and Robert Martinka ’85, brother of deceased Jerome ’50, Jan. ’22 Tony Prom, Jan. ’22 Lois Schwob, spouse of deceased John Schwob and mother of Matthew Schwob ’81 and Simon Schwob ’89, July ’21

1955 Louise Wesbrock, spouse of Don Wesbrock, Sept. ’21 Abbot Clement Zeleznik, OSB, May ’21

1956 Jude Hermsen, brother of deceased Jerome Hermsen ’57, Oct. ’21 Jerome Koerner, Jan. ’21 Jane Ruether, spouse of deceased Robert Ruether, mother of Michael Ruether ’78, Jim Ruether ’86 and Thomas Ruether ’83, sister of deceased James Schmidt ’52, Dec. ‘21

1957 Joleen Happe, spouse of deceased Eugene Happe and mother of Gregg Happe ’83, Aug. ’21 John Hynes, father of Robert Hynes ’83, Sept. ’21 Col. Thomas Latzka, father of Michael Latzka ’90, Aug. ’21 John “Jake” Lynch, Dec. ’21 Dick Matchinsky, March ’21 Jackie Matchinsky, spouse of deceased Dick Matchinsky, Nov. ’21

CLASS NOTES

1957 Mary Miller, spouse of Raphael Miller

1961 Janice Pikal, spouse of deceased

1967 S. Agnes Trombley (SOT/Sem),

and mother of Daniel Miller ’84, Sept. ’21 Donald Steichen, Aug. ’21

Michael Pikal, July ’21 Elmer Schwankl, brother of Jim Schwankl ’65, Feb. ’22 Donald Van Hyfte, father of Michael Van Hyfte ’97, Jan. ’21 Edward Votruba, Oct. ’21

Dec. ’21 1968 Keith Boelter, Sept. ’21 Michael Chisarik, Nov. ’21 Carol Gleason, spouse of Terry Gleason and mother of Joe Gleason ’02, Jan. ’22 Steve Koopmann, brother of Fr. Bob Koopmann, OSB, Oct. ’21 Mike Paquette, Dec. ’21 Philip Schneider, father of Peter Schneider ’97 and David Schneider ’03, Oct. ’21

1958 Leo Bromenschenkel, March ’21 Larry Commers, father of Mark Commers ’85, Jan. ’22 Keith Hughes, father of Mark Hughes ’86, Tim Hughes ’88, Matthew Hughes ’96, and twin brother of Kevin Hughes ’58, Sept. ’21 Sandra Mages, spouse of deceased Arnold Mages, Jan. ’22 Richard “Dick” Miller, Jan. ’22 Jerry Schliep, Jan. ’22 Patty Sipe, spouse of Mike Sipe and mother of Michael Sipe ’92, Jan. ’22

1959 David Boyle, father of Bob Boyle ’81, Oct. ’21 Peter Froehle, father of Steve Froehle ’86, brother of Tom Froehle ’61 and deceased brother Harry Frohle ’63, Jan. ’22 David Reese, father of Tim Reese ’88 and Mike Reese ’89, Nov. ’21 James Scully, July ’21 Dr. J. Michael Smith, brother of Dr. Thomas Smith ’61, Jan. ’22 Philip Welter, father of Jason Welter ’91 and Tony Welter ’95, Jan. ’22

1960 Vi Beuning, spouse of Jim Beuning, June ’20 Daniel Brott, father of Robert Brott ’84 and Michael Brott ’89, Nov. ’21 Jerry Moran, Dec. ’21 Dr. John Muenzhuber, father of Paul Muenzhuber ’88, July ’20 Carole Pietrek, spouse of Jerry Pietrek, May ’21 Dick Sabers, father of Steve Sabers ’89 and Michael Sabers ’97, Jan. ’22

1961 Leon Cook, father of Thomas Cook ’89, Oct. ’21 Dr. Douglas Hageman, March ’19 Robert Henry, father of Scott Henry ’86, Dec. ’21 Rose Ann Kouba, spouse of Dennis Kouba, Oct. ’20 Steve Kurth, Dec. ’20 Barbara Labat, spouse of Ron Labat, May ’21 Jim Mehl, July ’19

1962

William Schneider, Jan. ’22 Joseph Tomsche, Aug. ’21

1963 Richard DuHamel, Nov. ’21 Royce Morrissette, father of Chris Morrissette ’98 and Steve Morrissette ’02, Dec. ’21 Donald Roufs, Feb. ’22

1964 Thomas Allenburg, July ’21 Janie Amundson, spouse of Jack Amundson and mother of Scott Amundson ’90, Aug. ’21 Jerry Ehlen, brother of Donald Ehlen ’59, Charles Ehlen ’60 and deceased twin brother Thomas Ehlen ’64, Sept. ’21 Tom Ehlen, brother of Donald Ehlen ’59, Charles Ehlen ’60 and deceased twin brother Jerry Ehlen ’64, Oct. ’21 James Hasslinger, brother of deceased John Hasslinger ’59, June ’18 Kevin Kilty, July ’21 Dick Martin, father of John Martin ’91, Sept. ’21 Clarence Ross, Sept. ’21 Allan Snow, Sept. ’21 Arthur Thyen, Nov. ’21 George Zanotti, Jan. ’22

1965 Melvin Berg, Dec. ’21 Rich Froehle, father of Luke Froehle ’96 and deceased Jake Froehle ’03, brother of Art Froehle ’63 and Bob Froehle ’69, Oct. ’21 Delores Hodapp, spouse of Steve Hodapp, Aug. ’21 Joel Montpetit, father of Todd Montpetit ’92 and Jeff Montpetit ’95, Oct. ’21 Col. Joseph Yanchar, Sept. ’21

1966 Thomas Hayes, brother of Mark Hayes ’63 and Nick Hayes ’69, Dec. ’21 Patrick Murphy, July ’21 Mike Root, Nov. ’20 Patricia Williams, spouse of Jim Williams and mother of Chris Williams ’91, Oct. ’21

1967 Fred Bell, July ’21 Peter Stolz, Aug. ’21

1969 Mick McCambridge, father of Cameron McCambridge ’03, Sept. ’21 Mike Sturm, April ’20 William Walsh Jr., Jan. ’22

1970 Joyce Swierbut, spouse of Bill Cunningham, July ’21 David Haskins, Sept. ’21 Jeff Janacek, Jan. ’22 Don Venne, Nov. ’21

1971 Rich Fuchs, Nov. ’21 Jerry Karsky, May ’20 Sharon Witt, spouse of Blair Witt, Oct. ’21

1972 Augustin “Gus” Briguet, brother of Rick Briguet ’72 and deceased brother Dennis Briguet ’69, Oct. ’21 Michael Holbach, Nov. ’21 Tom Kapsner, June ‘21 Dr. Stephen Murphy, father of Sean Murphy ’13 and Connor Murphy ’17, Oct. ’21 Br. Benedict Oliver, FSC, brother of Br. Richard Oliver, OSB, Aug. ’21

1973 Michael Ronchetti, Aug. ’21 1974 S. Mary McGuinness, OP (SOT/Sem), Jan. ’22 Larry Osterhaus, Sept. ’21

1975 Michael Cross, July ’21 Craig Starbird, father of Jeff Starbird, Jan. ’22

1976 Joseph Boston, Sept. ’21 John Herkenhoff, Dec. ’21 Robert Loftus, spouse of Mary Jo Loftus (SOT/Sem) and father of Tom Loftus ’99, Jan. ’22

1978 Ron Walters, Jan. ’22 1979 Donald Butzen Jr., Jan. ’22 Carol Forby, mother of Dan Forby, Jan. ’22 Ellen Wethington, mother of Michael Wethington, Oct. ’21

1980 David Bissonnette, Jan. ’22 Paul Twohy, son of deceased James Twohy ’48, brother of

1980 Patrick Twohy ’76 and deceased brother William Twohy ’85, Oct. ’20

1981

Terri Delebo, spouse of John Delebo and mother of Ross Delebo ’13 and Jack Delebo ’17, Dec. ’21 S. Hilda Keller, OSB (SOT/Sem), Oct. ’21

1982 Richard Faber, brother of Rob Faber ’82, Jan. ’22 Jeffrey Poferl, father of Elijah Poferl ’19, Jan. ’22

1983 Paul Scheueer, Feb. ’22 1984 Deacon Michael Keable, Nov. ’21 1986 Paul Hofmann, son of deceased Robert Hofmann ’55 and brother of Rob Hofmann ’81, John Hofmann ’89, Tim Hofmann ’93 and deceased brother Tom Hofmann ’88, Sept. ’21

1989 Nancy Hooley, mother of Mark Hooley, Aug. ’21

1990 Michael Lee, Nov. ’21 1991 Regan Smith, Sept. ’21 1992 Devin McKeever, Aug. ’21 1993 William Bretherton, father of Jeff Bretherton, Dec. ’21 Derek Gossman, Sept. ’21 Shane Uglem, Jan. ’22

1995 Brian Doner, July, ’21 1998 Aaron Boatz, son of Margaret Boatz (SOT/Sem) ’86, Aug. ’21 Jane Lorsung, spouse of Jeff Lorsung, Aug. ’21

1999 Gloria Enright, mother of Tim Enright,

First Lay Chair of CSB Board Dies at 99 Robert “Bob” Witte died in February at the age of 99 of natural causes. Witte was a member of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune organization for 35 years, rising to vice president and member of the Board of Directors. In 1978, he was named chairman of the College of Saint Benedict Board of Trustees. He was the first layman ever named to that position. Previously, the prioress of Saint Benedict’s Monastery or her designee had served as chair. Witte was a beloved husband, parent, grandparent, friend, host and benefactor to all who knew him. Funeral arrangements were made this spring through Miller-Carlin Funeral Homes and memorials were directed toward the College of Saint Benedict or the Cathedral of St. Mary in St. Cloud.

Sept. ’21 Jessica Peterson, spouse of Joe Peterson, Nov. ’21

2000 Larry Britz, spouse of Bea Britz (SOT/ Sem) and brother of deceased Rev. Francis Britz ’51 (SOT/Sem ’55), Nov. ’21 Radhika Snyder, spouse of Seth Snyder, July ’21

2001 Andy Loso, Nov. ’21 2002 Aaron Bidle, Dec. ’21 2008 Jerry Theis (SOT/Sem), father of Rev. Jeremy Theis ’98, Aug. ’21 Weston Walker, Aug. ’21

2012

Kyle Wehking, Aug. ’21

GENEROSITY

Building Global Perspectives When Judy Poferl ’82 attended Saint Ben’s, she never considered studying abroad because she assumed she couldn’t afford it. “It was a stretch for me financially to go to Saint Ben’s. I worked two summer jobs and did everything I could to go. So, I never entertained the possibility of doing study abroad. I watched friends do it and it looked like a wonderful experience. They came back different – worldly – and even their social groups changed. I saw that and knew it was a good thing, but I didn’t see it as a possibility for me,” Poferl said. When her son was young, she put money in a 529 account and began planting the seeds for a global college experience. “I would tell him, this will help you go to college and, when you do, you can study abroad. We talked about it all the time just to let him know it was possible,” she said. Fast forward to fall 2017 when her son Eli attended the Greco Roman trip through Saint John’s. The summer before he left, the pair spent long hours training together for marathons that fall – she for the Twins Cities marathon and he for the Athens marathon. When Poferl decided to visit her son while he was in Greece, the timeframe that worked best with her work schedule was during the Athens marathon. “I thought, when in the world am I ever going to be in Athens and be in shape to do a marathon? So, I jumped in and ran it, too. It was an absolutely wonderful experience. We finished our final lap in one of the Olympic stadiums. It was incredible,” she gasped. While she was in Athens, she noticed a difference in her son. He was more confident and was able to navigate his 40 40

Eli ’19 and Judy Poferl ’82 way through his new environment with apparent ease. “Seeing my son mature and forging relationships with the people who lived there, like the man at the local coffee shop, was wonderful. I knew this was going to give him a big advantage in life. He came back more confident and open to different cultures and other perspectives. I thought, I have to help more people experience this,” she said. While she was on the Saint Ben’s board of trustees, Poferl also became more sensitive to the costs that fell outside of financial aid when studying abroad. “Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s do a great job with financial aid to make it affordable, but there are some things like your visa, your plane ticket and travel outside of the study abroad program that aren’t covered by financial aid. For someone like me, who didn’t think I could afford to study abroad, those things would have been huge obstacles,” Poferl admitted. To help eliminate those obstacles, she created the Judy Forstner Poferl ’82

Endowment for Global Study with a gift of $350,000. The endowed fund helps several students each year pay for expenses that fall outside of traditional financial aid. In addition to her scholarship, Poferl gives to Saint Ben’s consistently because she believes the world needs more of what the college offers. “Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s are positioned to put out the quality people we need to help address the world’s problems. That’s why support of these schools is so important to the extent that we can give back. I’m in a position where I can help the next generation of Bennies and Johnnies go out and do good things. Who’s the young Judy out there who doesn’t think she can do it? I want to help her!” Find out more about creating a value-based estate plan of your own by reaching out to Ellie Varberg in our CSB Office of Planned Gving at ejvarberg.csbsju.edu or 320-363-5301

LEAVE YOUR LEGACY

Close-knit community makes a big impact Thomas Hokr has been in the financial services industry for decades now. And over that time, the 1972 Saint John’s University graduate and founding partner of MHS Companies in Maple Grove, has talked to many people about setting up estate plans. “One of the first things I find when the topic comes up is that everyone wants to make sure their families are going to be OK,” Hokr said. “They always want to make sure they provided first for their families. At that point, it’s a matter of helping them identify the things that are dearest to them.” In his own case, SJU is at the top of that list, which is why he’s made sure that his will provides a gift to his alma mater. That act of generosity is a further continuation of the service and support he has provided to Saint John’s for many years now. Hokr was a member of the SJU Board of Trustees, where he served as alumni trustee. And before that, he served as President of the SJU Alumni Association Board from 2009-10. In 2012, he was named a recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award.

“It’s in my nature to want to give back,” said Hokr, who has also been involved in the Lions and Rotary over the years. “It’s important to my wife (Mary) and I to share both our resources and our time. “And Saint John’s is high on that list. I really look at it as a down payment on the future to help future Johnnies have the same experiences and benefits I had at SJU.” Hokr’s father was a salesman, and growing up the family lived in Florida, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. He attended four different elementary schools before graduating from Benilde High School in St. Louis Park (Minnesota). When Hokr arrived at SJU in the late 1960s, campus life provided him the experiences and the sense of community belonging he had been missing in his prior educational experiences. “My family moved around a lot growing up, and when you get into a situation that’s very close-knit and tight like the one you find at Saint John’s, it makes a big impact on you,” he said. “The nightly meetings sitting around in the dorm rooms - eating fresh warm Johnnie bread, talking about different topics

For more information on ways to LEAVE

and learning to accept all kinds of different points of views – are great opportunities. One of the best parts of these gatherings is that you are forming relationships with some of your closest friends that you will have for the rest of your life. “The bottom line - and one tends to realize this over time – is that your fundamental experiences help form the core of your basic values. And reflecting back on it, a lot of mine were formed during my time at Saint John’s.” This is why it was so important to Hokr to extend his legacy to include SJU in his estate plans. He encourages others who feel the same way to consider doing the same. “Every gift makes a difference,” he said. “I think a lot of people have the idea that estate planning is for the super-wealthy. That is a misconception. Estate planning is not simply about the amount, it’s about earmarking one’s financial resources to support what is near and dear to one’s self, and if that includes a charitable entity, that the organization maintains its longevity through one’s gifts after one is gone.” “I’d urge people to consider SJU in their estate plan, and I’d thank donors for all they do for Saint John’s.”

YOUR LEGACY

contact the SJU Planned Giving team at 320-363-2116 or visit sjulegacy.org Read more inspiring donor stories at advancingsaintjohns.org

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CSB+SJU Magazine Spring 2022

Articles inside

Generosity

News Updates

The Good Fight for Shared Services

Sports Roundup

A Message From the Presidents

Coming Together: Strong Integration

Class Notes

A Better Path