AROUND CAMPUS

ACADEMIC YEAR OPENS WITH A FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP

St. Catherine University continued its traditional opening celebration this year, with a modern twist. Instead of gathering in person, students, faculty, and staff crossed virtual channels to convene online.

This year’s theme, “leadership,” offered a pause in today’s chaotic life to look back and look ahead. “As a central tenet of our mission, leadership has been part of a St. Catherine education since our founding,” said ReBecca Koenig Roloff ’76, president of St. Catherine University. “This year, we are called to lead more than ever as we navigate a health pandemic, economic crisis, natural disasters, racism, and racial disparities.”

In that spirit, St. Kate’s celebrated the leadership of two women: Sister Mary Madonna Ashton, CSJ, ’44 and Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm. The University conferred honorary degrees to Ashton and Malcolm. Both women have devoted their careers to pursuing health equity with wisdom and justice. Each shared her own reflections and advice for this year’s class.

Sister Mary Madonna Ashton, CSJ, ’44

Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm

“The most important thing is that students be themselves, enjoy what they’re doing, and do it the best they can,” advised Sr. Mary Madonna. “There’s no road map to what will make you famous, important, or intelligent. Good things will come your way — take advantage of them.”

Commissioner Malcolm, a veteran healthcare executive and nationally recognized expert on health policy, is serving her second appointment as the Minnesota health commissioner. She noted, “This is a time when we all have to stay committed to being open to learning new things, to follow the facts, and be humble enough to change course when we learn something new.

“If we can learn the lessons that we’re seeing now, that the things we took for granted we can’t take for granted, we can build a more just, connected, humane, caring, and sustainable world. All of this can lead us to a brighter, healthier, more resilient future,” said Malcolm.

That future relies on the leaders who will graduate from St. Catherine University. Despite the many changes the community has faced over the past six months, according to Anita Thomas, PhD, executive vice president and provost, “One thing remains the same: We will still be the St. Catherine community, and we’ll still produce great leaders that will lead and influence change.”

TWO MORE KATIES NAMED 2021–22 FULBRIGHT FINALISTS

St. Catherine University congratulates two students who were named Fulbright finalists this year.

Addison Cross ’20

Addison Cross ’20, was awarded a 2021–22 Fulbright grant to conduct research in El Salvador. Cross, an international relations and Spanish major, has worked in El Salvador before and plans to use her time as a grantee to research the community-level relationship between international aid programs and an individual’s likelihood to migrate.

Erin Nelsen ’20

Erin Nelsen ’20, received a Fulbright grant to attend Aberystwyth University in Wales. With this yearlong Master of Arts program, Nelsen — a double major in international relations and women and international development — will study international relations with a concentration in feminist security.

The highly prestigious Fulbright program has been setting the standard for competitive scholarships since 1946. Since 1953, more than 45 Katies have received this fellowship. Thousands of students around the globe compete for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program every year — only one in five applicants receive the award.

ST. CATHERINE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR NAMED EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL OF INDOEUROPEAN STUDIES

Emily Blanchard West, PhD, associate professor of classics and history, has been named editor-in-chief of the Journal of Indo-European Studies. West’s title appears on the masthead of the Fall/Winter 2020 issue.

This peer-reviewed journal is dedicated entirely to understanding the exchange and synthesis of information relating to the origin and evolution of the Indo-European language family and to the anthropology, archaeology, mythology, and general cultural history of Indo-European-speaking peoples.

“Being asked to edit a long-standing journal with a stellar reputation and a global reach is one of the highest recognitions of scholarship and expertise,” says Tarshia Stanley, PhD, dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences.

West teaches a range of courses from classics, English, fine arts, and history. She also leads a Hindu mythology class to Nepal every two years through the Upper Midwest Association for Intercultural Education (UMAIE). To West, this editorship solidifies her feelings about St. Kate’s, where she is able to teach across multiple departments simultaneously, because there is no one-way approach to Indo-European studies. “It takes a really special place where there are so many areas you can teach in,” West says.

KATIES RANK AMONG TOP FIVE IN MIDWEST ECONOMICS ASSOCIATION RESEARCH PAPER CONTEST

Two St. Catherine University economics students made Katie history when they were ranked among the top five submissions in the 2020 Midwest Economics Association (MEA) research paper contest. This is the first time St. Kate’s students were recognized by the MEA’s competition, which is usually dominated by Big Ten schools.

Isabel Pastoor ’20 (left) and Elizabeth Kula ’19 (right) received honorable mentions for papers that they first composed in fall 2019 for their Econometrics class taught by Professor Kristine West, PhD.

Isabel Pastoor ’20

Pastoor, who double-majored in economics and women and international development, researched the role household predictors play in a mother’s decision for her daughter to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) in Senegal. She took a microeconomic approach to the issue by incorporating household power dynamics using quantitative tools. She dug deeper to investigate why this tradition continues and questioned why the focus was on the characteristics of the infants undergoing FGM when it truly relies on family members making decisions in the household. Pastoor hopes to conduct more applied research in graduate school, exploring women’s rights with an emphasis on reproductive health.

Elizabeth Kula ’19

Kula, who graduated with a double-major in economics and mathematics, helped launch the Minnesota Center for Diversity in Economics at St. Kate’s. Her submission studied the effect unemployment has on the decision to enter the illegal ivory trade. Kula used her data analysis skills to look at ending elephant poaching, but doing so in a way that does not eliminate people’s money-making opportunities. Kula appreciated the clarity she gained from this experience as she pursues a career as an academic economist. She is currently pursuing her PhD in applied economics at the University of Minnesota, aiming to conduct further research on endangered species and biodiversity conservation.

While MEA canceled its annual conference due to COVID-19, Pastoor and Kula were able to present their papers through a webinar.

For more St. Kate’s news and to read full announcements, visit stkate.edu/news.

MARY CLAIRE FRANCOIS ’23 (INSET) CO-FOUNDED THE NONPROFIT THE REAL MINNEAPOLIS, WHICH FOCUSES ON COMMUNITY PROJECTS LIKE THIS SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS YOUTH GARDEN.

FEAST OF ST. CATHERINE CELEBRATION

Join us November 23 for a virtual gathering to honor our namesake saint.

Watch for details at stkate.edu/feast.

GEORGE FLOYD LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP: INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

With a deep and long commitment to social justice, St. Catherine University responds to the call to create a scholarship honoring the life of George Floyd. We will create the George Floyd Legacy Scholarship. This significant and prestigious scholarship will be awarded to a Black American student pursuing a degree that prepares them for a career to lead and promote social justice, specifically related to racism. To learn more or contribute, contact Institutional Advancement at giving@stkate.edu or 651-690-6093.

Gifts to the George Floyd Legacy Scholarship also count toward LEAD & INFLUENCE: The Campaign for the Next Level of Excellence.

STUDENT FOUNDS NONPROFIT TO SUPPORT SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS COMMUNITY

MARY CLAIRE FRANCOIS ’23 WHO CO-FOUNDED THE NONPROFIT THE REAL MINNEAPOLIS

THE NONPROFIT THE REAL MINNEAPOLIS, FOCUSES ON COMMUNITY PROJECTS LIKE THIS SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS YOUTH GARDEN PICTURED BELOW.

Mary Claire Francois ’23, a student-athlete and sophomore studying pre-nursing at St. Catherine University, is exemplifying St. Kate’s values of social justice and community by effecting positive change in her South Minneapolis neighborhood.

After witnessing the destruction following George Floyd’s death in May 2020, Francois and two fellow South Minneapolis residents founded the nonprofit organization The Real Minneapolis. Its mission is to lift up their community through a variety of sociallyconscious projects, many which are focused on engaging youth. “These kids are our future, and that is where a lot of my passion for youth involvement in The Real Minneapolis comes from,” Francois says.

Hope Beyond Rubble is one such project that employs young community members to place flower installations near burnt buildings along Lake Street and Chicago Avenue. Francois says, “It helps to bring some new life and hope to the area.” Another project is the South Minneapolis Youth Garden, a vegetable and flower garden that youth workers plant and tend, which also functions as a place of solace for the community.

It has been a huge undertaking, but as Francois reflects on the experience, “the payoff of seeing my community happy and smiling is absolutely fulfilling.”

Learn more about The Real Minneapolis at realmpls.org.

ST. CATHERINE UNIVERSITY AWARDED $1.3M TRIO GRANT FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

St. Catherine University has been awarded a $1.3 million competitive grant over five years from the United States Department of Education to establish a TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program. The program provides support to students with high academic abilities, but who may experience challenges due to disabilities and neurodiverse traits; students who are the first generation of their families to attend college; and students with financial need. This program will connect them with the high-impact curricular and cocurricular services they need to successfully complete their degrees at St. Kate’s.

The 140 undergraduate students selected through an application process to participate in the program will be connected with the tools they need to overcome these challenges. Anchored in a responsive advising model, St. Kate’s SSS project engages students as partners in mapping their academic journey and accessing the high-impact curricular and cocurricular services that students benefit from as they pursue their degrees.

For more than 50 years, this competitive grant awards funds to institutions of higher education to create TRIO SSS projects. The project at St. Catherine University will be housed in Academic Advising.

ST. KATE’S 2020–21 BOOK EVENTS

ST. KATE’S READS November 9, 2020

Alumni are welcome to gather virtually for an in-depth book discussion with St. Kate’s history professor Jane Lamm Carroll, PhD, on her newly released book.

Daybreak Woman: An Anglo-Dakota Life By Jane Lamm Carroll, PhD

March 1, 2021 Save the Date: spring St. Kate’s Reads event

CONVERSATION WITH BOOKS February 6, 2021

An annual favorite, this event brings together a panel of faculty and alumni to discuss the best of new fiction and nonfiction. Watch for the booklist release in early winter.

MYSER LECTURE April 2021

Our 2021 Myser lecturer, Christiana Zenner, associate professor of theology, science, and ethics at Fordham University and author, will share her work in fresh water ethics with the St. Kate’s community. Watch for event details at stkate.edu/myser.

Just Water: Theology, Ethics, and Fresh Water Crises By Christiana Zenner

WORDPLAY Spring 2021

The Loft Literary Center and St. Kate’s present the third annual community book festival. Authors, readers, and writers from across disciplines and genres gather to swap stories with readers of all tastes.

Stay updated on the latest book events at stkate.edu/books.