SOARING TOGETHER
The inauguration of President Marcheta P. Evans, PhD
Greetings From the Board
This special edition of St. Catherine University Magazine celebrates the historic inauguration of our 12th president, Marcheta P. Evans, PhD. We are thrilled to officially welcome her, and we are grateful to the advisory search committee and many community members whose diligence and thoughtfulness helped select our next leader — one who will guide us through the University’s next chapter. As I begin my first year as board chair, I can think of no one more fitting for this charge than the individual now wearing the presidential medallion.
A passionate educator, a wise and experienced leader, and a staunch advocate for women and equity, President Evans is a living example of what St. Kate’s is all about. We are confident that she is the right choice to advance the transformative mission of St. Catherine University and lead our institution into the future. We look forward to all we will accomplish with her at the helm.
On November 1, the St. Kate’s community came together for President Evans’ installation, a joyous occasion combining worship, ceremony, and celebration. Whether you attended in person, joined us via livestream, or are getting a glimpse of the festivities for the first time in these pages, we hope you enjoy this tribute to a uniquely meaningful day in St. Kate’s history.
Samantha Hanson Chair, Board of Trustees
Note From the President
November 1 will forever live in my heart and mind as a day that our St. Catherine community came together, grounded in our history and legacy of women’s leadership, to launch a new chapter together. On this day of deep tradition and bright beginnings, my family, close friends, and I felt the embrace of this truly amazing institution of higher learning.
What a beautiful, hopeful, joyful day it was!
There were numerous moments throughout the occasions that quite simply took my breath away. The student choir’s pure voice soaring in the newly bright Chapel; the transcendence of the performances of Jevetta Steele and Sounds of Blackness. Our community’s generous blessings through the laying of the hands during the Mass; the connective energy of all who joined us for the installation ceremony at The O’Shaughnessy. Student laughter, faces new and old — all these, memories to last a lifetime.
I will be always grateful to this community for the lift to our collective spirit; that was such a gift, not just for me but for the students, faculty, and staff of St. Catherine University. The work we do here, day in and day out, is just as vital as it was that day back in 1905 when the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet first opened the doors of Derham Hall and launched their mission of educating women to lead and influence.
Everyone who attended our celebrations knows: our community has exactly what it needs to weather the unknowns ahead of us. In my heart, I know, too, that the best days of St. Kate’s are yet to come.
Marcheta P. Evans, PhD President
ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2024, MARCHETA P. EVANS, PhD, WAS FORMALLY INSTALLED AS 12 TH PRESIDENT.
INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT
MARY HAEG, JD
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
SARAH VOIGT
EDITOR
MICHELLE MULLOWNEY ’17
CONTRIBUTORS
CINDY CONLEY
KARA D E MARIE MLIS’16
KENDALL GRAHAM
LINDSAY BUTTERFIELD WHIPPLE ’09
DESIGNER MOLLY ORTH
PHOTOGRAPHER
REBECCA ZENEFSKI SLATER ’10
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St. Catherine University Magazine is published three times a year by the Office of Communications. No part of this publication may be reprinted without permission.
St. Catherine University was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1905.
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Breaking bread
On the evening of Thursday, October 31, inauguration celebrations began with a dinner in Rauenhorst Ballroom in Coeur de Catherine. Guests included St. Catherine University trustees and leadership members, in addition to President Evans’ family and friends, who traveled from Texas, New Jersey, California, and Alabama to celebrate the momentous occasion.
1. President Evans’ guests included her Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority sisters. 2. Carolyn Self Wollan ’91 (left) and trustee Robert E. Wollan with President Evans. 3. Interim provost Denise Baird, PhD, and other St. Kate’s members of leadership. 4. Brenda Grandstrand Woodson ’80, JD, with the president. 5. President Evans’ sisters-in-law, Penny Mallet (left) and Roz Mallet (right). 6. Phyllis Gaines, cousin of President Evans and AKA sorority sister. 7. President Evans with St. Kate’s trustees (left to right): Colleen O’Malley, CSJ, ’63; Jean Wincek, CSJ, ’62, EdD; Joan Mitchell CSJ, ’62, DTh; Jill Underdahl, CSJ, ’92.
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President Evans with her husband, children, and grandchildren. 2. The president and Samantha Hanson, chair of the Board of Trustees, share a moment amidst the celebrations. 3. President Evans and her AKA sorority sisters go “pinkies up” for their alma mater’s school colors, pink and green.
Blessings
On the morning of Friday, November 1, the Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda, archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, presided over an inaugural Mass in the newly reopened Our Lady of Victory Chapel.
“From the many corners of this community, we humbly ask Your blessing, oh God, on Dr. Marcheta Evans, 12th president of St. Catherine University. …May she draw upon the strength of Your spirit, the energy of the students, and the dreams of future Katies for inspiration that motivates and compels her to be a strong presence and an ardent advocate for all who seek wisdom.”
— Archbishop Hebda
1. President Evans with Suzanne Lehman ’93, MSN’11, DNP’18, dean of the School of Nursing. 2. Sharon Howell, CSJ, director of the Center for Spirituality and Social Justice (CSSJ), helps prepare President Evans’ grandsons as gift bearers in the Mass. 3. Archbishop Hebda blesses President Evans. 4. Students in the University Choir. 5. Left to right: Deacon Mickey Friesen, DMin; Archbishop Hebda; and Father John Forliti, longtime presider at Our Lady of Victory Chapel. 6. Veronique Kolibe-Gnamikou ’27, CSSJ ministry assistant.
After Communion, Archbishop Hebda invited community members to lay their hands on President Evans in a customary inaugural blessing of St. Kate’s new leader.
1. Hanson, the archbishop, and Edgar Evans, President Evans’ spouse. 2. Kelly Rogers, PhD. 3. Cathy Steffens, CSJ, ’67. 4. Sami Pineda ’27. 5. Lucy d’Uscio ’27. 6. Archbishop Hebda leads the congregation out of the Chapel during the Mass recessional.
Installation
Following the Mass, the installation ceremony took place in The O’Shaughnessy.
Minnesota Supreme Court associate justice Anne K. McKeig ’89, JD, greeted the community and invited speakers representing the St. Kate’s community, the diocese, and higher education institutions to share greetings and charges for the incoming president.
Two former St. Catherine presidents were in attendance to celebrate the University’s 12th leader: President Anita Pampusch ’60, PhD (1984–97), and President ReBecca Koenig Roloff ’76 (2016–24).
8. President Evans’ daughters dedicated their address to their mother, invoking the writings of Octavia E. Butler. Left to right: Brittany D. McGhee; Martina P. McGhee, PhD; Morgan P. McGhee. 9. Stephanie de Sam Lazaro ’05, MAOT’06, OTD’14, St. Kate’s faculty senate president; 10. Luul Adam ’25, St. Kate’s student senate president. 5 4 3 2 6 7
1. Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJs) in the audience stand for recognition. 2. President Evans. Speakers included: 3. Lamont Repollet, EdD, president of Kean University; 4. Justice McKeig; 5. Suzanne Rivera, PhD, president of Macalester College. 6. Jill Underdahl, CSJ, ’92 represented St. Kate’s founders, the CSJs. She presented President Evans with a copy of the CSJ primitive constitution, wrapped in lace from Le Puy, France, the birthplace of the order. 7. Nearly 30 delegates from higher education institutions across the country processed in the ceremony.
1. and following page: Grammy Award-winning group Sounds of Blackness performed “Optimistic,” and dedicated their song “We Give You Thanks” as a blessing of President Evans in her new role. 2. Jevetta Steele, known for Academy Award-nominated song “Calling You,” performed the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” 3. Students
Jennifer Slendak ’26 (left) and Madeline Maurer ’25 (right), members of Dew Drop Drama Company, performed an excerpt from Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Power of Firsts,” the first-ever U.S. Youth Poet Laureate’s paean to the power of education for women and girls.
“Power unfurls in a girl at school like the first pages of a book unwritten, She’s a story waiting to ignite.”
– Amanda Gorman, “The Power of Firsts”
President Evans received the presidential medallion in keeping with inaugural tradition, and in official recognition of her installation as the 12th president of St. Catherine University.
Samantha Hanson, chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, welcomed the president warmly before presenting her with the medallion.
“Dr. Evans is a wise and experienced leader; a compassionate wife, mother, sister, daughter and aunt; an advocate for women and girls in our community; and an unapologetic champion for the liberal arts, for professional preparation, and for all things St. Kate’s,” Hanson said.
The presidential medallion is cast with the University seal, which depicts three core elements of St. Catherine identity:
• spiritual — the spiked wheel representing Saint Catherine of Alexandria
• intellectual — symbolized by the flaming torch of learning
• physical — the undulating line referencing the Mississippi River. St. Kate’s founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, traveled the Mississippi to reach St. Paul, Minnesota.
St. Catherine University Presidents:
Antonia McHugh, CSJ, MA
Dean 1914–1929, President 1929–1937
Eucharista Galvin, CSJ, ’24, PhD 1937–1943
Antonius Kennelly, CSJ, ’26, PhD 1943–1949
Antonine O’Brien, CSJ, ’26, MA Oxon. 1949–1955
Mary William Brady, CSJ, ’31, PhD 1955–1961
Mary Edward Healy, CSJ, PhD 1961–1964
Alberta M. Huber, CSJ, ’37, PhD 1964–1979
Catherine T. McNamee, CSJ, PhD 1979–1984
Anita M. Pampusch ’62, PhD 1984–1997
Mary E. Broderick, PhD ad interim 1997–1998
Andrea J. Lee, IHM, PhD 1998–2016
Karen M. Rauenhorst, LHD’17 h.c. ad interim 2016
ReBecca Koenig Roloff ’76, MBA 2016–2024
Marcheta P. Evans, PhD Installed November 1, 2024
To our 12th president!
St. Kate’s community members gathered in The O’Shaughnessy lobby for hors d’oeuvres and a toast to St. Kate’s newly installed leader.
Left to right: First-years Aven John ’28, Alice Apaloo ’28, and Christina Gordon ’28 pose with President Evans.
1. Samantha Hanson introduced the 12th president, who shared a few additional words of gratitude. 2, 4. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the wider community celebrated President Evans’ formal installation. 3. The president’s AKA sisters gathered around her to sing their sorority hymn.
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1. President Evans with former colleagues and community members from Bloomfield College (Montclair State University, New Jersey). The president with 2. sister Deborah Sellers, 3. sister Cathy Sellers, 4. and motherand sister-in-law. 1 2 3 4
Student Celebrations
On Friday evening, President Evans joined students for Día de los Muertos in Rauenhorst Ballroom. Hosted by the Latine Student Association, the event featured music, food, and traditional Ecuadorian and Mexican dance performances.
“We all value the gifts and talents you bring to St. Kate’s and to all of higher education in Minnesota, and we look forward to supporting you and St. Kate’s now and for years to come. …
On this Día de los Muertos, I know the ancestors are shining down on you today.”
— Suzanne M. Rivera, PhD, president of Macalester College, installation ceremony remarks
Students also participated in the day’s celebrations with a Fall Fest that included llamas, horse-and-carriage rides, pumpkin painting, and s’mores.
Soaring Fund
In her inaugural address, President Evans introduced her vision for her presidency: Soaring Together, which “reflects the interconnectedness of our goals, aspirations, and commitment to the University’s mission,” she said. “Just as I have been lifted by a village, we too must be a village — for each other, for our students, and for our community. When we rise together, there are no limits to what we can achieve.”
Honor St. Kate’s new president with a gift on her behalf. Contributions to President Evans’ Soaring Fund will support efforts on campus that address food insecurity, emergency grants, student parent resources, health and wellness, counseling, and other emerging student needs.
Donate at stkate.edu/SoaringFund.