Saint Benedict’s Magazine Fall 2022

times a year by the office of Institutional Advancement.

EDITOR

Greg Skoog (SJU ’89)

ASSISTANT EDITOR Blake Theisen

CONTRIBUTORS

Kevin Allenspach Katie Alvino Ellen Hunter Gans ’05 Lori Gnahn Tommy O’Laughlin (SJU ’13)

COVER PHOTO

First-year forward Addison Stephani and the Saint Benedict soccer team had a strong season that ended in a crushing shootout loss to St. Kate’s in the MIAC semifinals. Photo by Isaac Dubois (SJU ’23).

CONTACT

College of Saint Benedict Magazine Institutional Advancement 37 South College Avenue St. Joseph, MN 56374-2099

For address changes, please call 1-800-648-3468, ext. 1 or email csbalumnae@csbsju.edu Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer The mission of the College of Saint Benedict is to provide for women the very best residential liberal arts education in the Catholic and Benedictine traditions. The college fosters integrated learning, exceptional leadership for change and wisdom for a lifetime.

37 words that push for progress

Over my 32 years spent in higher education, I have placed considerable focus on 37 specific words. From my first role in higher education, through two decades at a college for women, to my role today balancing a college for women alongside a college for men – Title IX has been a constant companion.

Thirty-seven words: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Over the past 50 years, these landmark words and the vision that allowed them to emerge have transformed the experience for millions of women and girls and, more importantly, generated the possibility for a more just society for all. The impact of Title IX has far exceeded the authors’ intent.

Too often society equates Title IX to only equality for girls and women in athletics. Title IX legislation, passed in 1972, did radically improve equality on athletic competition surfaces. Much more significantly, it opened a transformational era of equality for many and change for a wide array of important social structures. Title IX is landmark because it affords equal protection, based on sex, for the inherent right to healthy education and work. Title IX provides protections and remedies for girls, boys, women, men, parents and, more broadly, society.

As long as we see evidence of an imbalanced experience or access to programs or services, we have a need for Title IX. As long as high school and college students and employees experience different treatment, discrimination or harassment, we have a need for Title IX. As long as we see measurable and unsubstantiated differentiations in pay, we have a need for Title IX.

At Saint Ben’s we are given – by our mission – to the holistic development of our students. We work hard to deliver an impactful and transformational experience for our students and doing so – in the full spirit of our Benedictine tradition – is holy work. Doing so requires us to remain attuned and intentional in the provision of high-impact education. Our goal is for students to flourish. To flourish so they may go into the world as educated and purposeful citizens.

How we teach and learn and how we enable students depends on our ability to create and nurture learning environments and programs that lift people up, call them to high expectations and both challenge and support them as they seek deeper knowledge and wisdom. Our hope is for each student to emerge from CSB as a member of society who understands the Common Good, who honors the dignity of people, who thinks critically and acts for peace and justice. As the inaugural joint president, I expect the same for students who graduate from Saint John’s University as well.

Our hope is for each student to emerge from CSB as a member of society who understands the Common Good, who honors the dignity of people, who thinks critically and acts for peace and justice.”

As we strive for a more just world and pursue our educational mission, I encourage us to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, to take stock in the progress we have made and to recommit ourselves to collaboratively and unapologetically defining the next 50 years of progress as we enable and nurture even greater human flourishing!

Brian J. Bruess, Ph.D. President, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University

GETTING CONNECTED

On move-in day in the fall, Resource Fair is a chance for new students and their families to discover the many organizations, clubs, departments and services available on campus. (Saint John’s holds one on move-in day as well.) It’s also a chance for current students like Emma Zobitz ’23 and Zoe Dalziel ’23 to reconnect after the summer!

McNeely Center Names 2022 Entrepreneurs of the Year

Seeing opportunities, exemplifying innovation in launching and leading a venture and applying the Benedictine values central to both the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in the workplace and in their own lives. Those are the traits which the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards – presented annually by the Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship at CSB and SJU – were created to honor.

In October, this year’s winners were honored in a ceremony at the Metropolitan Golden Club in Golden Valley, Minnesota.

Hudda Ibrahim ’13 CSB Entrepreneur of the Year

Ibrahim is CEO of Filsan Talent Partners, a Central Minnesota company devoted to helping local employers attract and retain talent. She also is a faculty member at St. Cloud Technical and Community College and a trainer specializing in topics such as diversity and inclusion, cultural competency and unconscious bias. In addition, she is the author of seven books including From Somalia to Snow, What Color is My Hijab, and Lula Wants to Wear a Badge, published by Diverse Voices Press, a company she co-founded with her husband.

Pat Lynch ’88

SJU Entrepreneur of the Year

Lynch is president of Granite Logistics. With offices in Sartell and Minneapolis, Granite Logistics has appeared six straight times (including three times in the top 10) on the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Fast 50 list of fastest-growing private businesses. The steadily growing firm will arrange for the movement of more than 70,000 truckloads of freight and generate over $250 million in gross billings in 2022.

Mary Lenard ’82

CSB+SJU Social Entrepreneur of the Year

Lenard is co-founder and former executive director of Giving Voice Initiative, a national nonprofit leading the way in the worldwide development of dementia-inclusive choruses. The organization believes in the power of music to help people with Alzheimer’s live better lives – lifting moods, stimulating cognition and promoting mental alertness. Since inception, over 50 choirs have been established around the world.

Alumnae Board Welcomes New Members

On July 1, the Saint Ben’s Alumnae Association welcomed eight new Bennies to the board of directors. The board represents all alumnae (defined as any student who has spent two semesters at Saint Ben’s). Each brings excitement, enthusiasm and her own perspective on why serving is important.

Fran Walters Davis ’82

“I’m very grateful for all the opportunities that attending CSB afforded me. In addition to giving monetarily, I would like to give of my time and talent.”

Joan Van Grinsven Doss ’13

“I hope to increase engagement of all alumnae, but with a specific focus on out-of-state alumnae.”

Libby Grygar ’19

“I look forward to exploring ways to better reach and communicate with individuals, as well as planning and contributing to engaging events.”

Alexa Bollig Lambert ’14

“I believe by serving on the CSB Alumnae Board I can take all that CSB has instilled in me and share that with current and future Bennies.”

Joanie Borman Olson ’88

“I feel the networking opportunities that are available for CSB graduates through our alumnae are very important. I want to make sure there are ample ways for the alumnae to stay connected.”

“I have a passion for giving back and creating an inviting environment through fundraising events.”

Nicole Schultz ’20

“I want to be able to get into more volunteering now that I am fully settled in St. Cloud. Before coming to CSB, I logged over 400 hours of volunteering.”

Kathy Madison Reed ’92

“I look forward to being part of a community focused on growing alumnae relationships with the CSB institution as well as with other alumnae.”

Sharon Cogley Paulson ’82

Bennies Shine Bright in the Eyes of Fulbright

Not since before the COVID-19 pandemic have Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s had as many Fulbright grant recipients as there are this fall. Six recent graduates earned the opportunity this spring, the most since 2019 – which also was the last time anyone from CSB or SJU earned a research award.

Valerie Doze ’21, who graduated in December 2021 with a double major in biochemistry and German, moved to Gottingen, Germany, in September on a Fulbright open study/research award to work at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences.

Five others from CSB and SJU – all 2022 grads – received English Teaching Assistant awards. They include Sarah Broghammer (Norway), Regan Dolezal (Czech Republic), Noah Knapp (North Macedonia), Kate Schiltz (Spain) and Brigid Smith (Colombia).

Also earning Fulbright honor was CSB and SJU Associate Professor of Political Science Pedro dos Santos. He is the first Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in the history of either school. The award will support his research on political party dynamics, candidate selection and democratic representation in Brazil.

Annual College Rankings

The prestigious Fulbright research award for Doze is a well-deserved chance to travel and study. She was supposed to spend the summer of 2020 as an undergraduate research intern at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Unfortunately, COVID-related restrictions meant she served that internship virtually, from her home in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

“We got sent home in March of 2020,” said Doze, who a month later became the fifth Saint Ben’s student ever to be named a Truman Scholar – securing at least $30,000 in funding for graduate school. “My Truman proposal was all about climate change and public health. I stressed in my Fulbright application that I want to go (to Germany) now versus after I might get a Ph.D., because the pandemic is happening. It’s an opportunity that comes once in multiple generations to work at a cutting-edge research facility at a time when we’re dealing with such a virus.”

How do Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s stack up against the nation’s best?

Washington Monthly

Washington Monthly ranks liberal arts colleges (four-year institutions that award almost exclusively bachelor’s degrees and that focus on arts and sciences rather than professional programs) based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research and promoting public service. This year Saint Ben’s was ranked #19 nationally (SJU ranked #54).

In Washington Monthly’s “Best Bang for the Buck Colleges –Midwest” ranking, CSB was rated #35 (SJU #92). Both schools also appeared in Washington Monthly’s list of “America’s Best Colleges for Student Voting.”

U.S. News and World Report

Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s tied this year for #94 on U.S. News’ ranking of national liberal arts schools. CSB also appeared at #61 (SJU was #56) on the list of “Best Value Schools.”

Princeton Review

Listed jointly, CSB and SJU were named among the “Best Colleges” by the Princeton Review. No numerical ratings are given to the 388 schools (only about 14% of America’s fouryear colleges) listed.

Money Magazine

This spring, Saint Ben’s was ranked #13 (SJU #10) out of 50 schools in Money Magazine’s “Best Colleges in the Midwest” list. In Money’s nationwide list (ranking 671 schools on education, affordability and outcomes), CSB appeared at #50 (SJU ranked #38).

Kate Schiltz ’22, Sarah Broghammer ’22, Noah Knapp ’22 and Regan Dolezal ’22

Valerie Doze ’21

Brigid Smith ’22 Pedro dos Santos

New Data Science Major Fuses Math and Computer Science

For the past 15 years, the math and computer science departments at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s collaborated in offering a numerical computation degree.

The idea was to use math, computer science and a third discipline – chemistry or physics, for example – to give students a modern bent on the explosion in data available today and increasing in the future.

“Data is the new black gold,” said Bob Hesse, a math professor who is co-chair of the new data science program, along with

Imad Rahal, chair of the computer science department. “Numerical computation never had our intended success. We noticed students who pursue the major were selecting courses that anywhere else would be a data science major. So, we realized we should revamp, focus the course selections, and relabel the major as data science.”

Give CSB Day Keeps on Ticking

Tuesday, Oct. 18, was a big day in the quest to provide scholarship help for today’s Bennies. It was our 10th annual Give CSB Day – when alumnae, parents, staff, faculty, friends … and even students joined together to raise as much money as possible in 24 hours.

With nine years spent learning to look forward to the fun each year, hundreds of you were ready to step in and shine. And when the clock struck midnight, 829 generous donors had helped us bring in a truly remarkable $486,152 – blowing well past our goal of reaching and engaging 800 donors. Thank you!

Those 829 donors picked a pretty savvy time to make a gift toward Bennie scholarships. Because this year, like the first nine years, all gifts on Give CSB Day were matched 100%! (Ever wonder how that works? You can learn more about the amazing folks who provide those matching dollars on page 37.)

The data science major is for students who not only want to use the tools but also modify or make new machine learning algorithms. Students who enjoy math, statistics and programming, and want to use all those tools, will find a home in this major.

Pathways Program Redefines Graduating With Distinction

Finding a way to celebrate and recognize the entire range and scope of a student’s accomplishments during their time on campus is the impetus behind the Pathways to Distinction program being launched this year by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholars (OURS).

Pathways to Distinction allows students to work toward obtaining distinction in one of five different categories. That distinction, while challenging to obtain, is not based entirely on coursework.

Rather, the process also takes into account a student’s “extraordinary development and accomplishments” across a variety of areas including “academic, community-based, personal, leadership, global engagement, service and other experiences.”

The five categories – Engage Globally, Embrace Difference, Think Deeply, Serve Graciously and Live Courageously –match CSB and SJU’s five Institutional Learning Goals. Members of this year’s sophomore class are the first students being invited to take part in the initiative. The honors will be presented at commencement in the spring of a student’s senior year.

“We have said that these goals are our promise to our students for how CSB and SJU will transform them. But now I think we’re truly starting to walk the walk,” said Lindsey Gunnerson Gutsch, the director of OURS, which is part of the new Experience Hub in the Clemens Library. “At the end of the day, Pathways redefines what graduating from college with distinction actually looks like. These distinctions will have real meaning to our students, our alums and future employers of our grads here in the 21st century.

“We aimed to create guided pathways that will not only help students be intentional about how they invest their time during their four years at CSB and SJU, but also show them that we are committed to celebrating and honoring their work in and out of the classroom.”

Each Pathway enables students to strategically decide how they want to stand out by completing required and elective criteria during their four years on campus, making it possible to award graduation distinctions that are inclusive and accessible to any student.

The distinctions are not meant to be easily obtained, and students are encouraged to focus on working toward honors in just one of the five categories. Engage Globally, for example, isn’t just about studying abroad. If that becomes a student’s pathway into earning the Engage Globally distinction, the invitation is for them to dig deeper into how they integrate their experiences from abroad into the community here. That may look like active participation in an aligned student club and engaging in further research on a global topic.

Emily Renner ’24 Plays a Round to Remember

round. The previous low round was held by Grace Todora Kinne ’15 in 2011, who shot a 1-under-par 71 at the MIAC Championships at Bunker Hills, which plays as a par 72 course. Renner also set the new 36-hole record, shooting a twoday total of 146. The previous 36-hole record of 149 was shot by All-American golfer Kathryn Hauff Dehn ’12 in 2010.

“I was playing pretty well from the start,” Renner said, “but once I eagled the 10th hole my round really shifted gears. I was hitting the ball where I wanted most of the time, which definitely helped as well.”

“Emily is a great player for us,” confirmed CSB golf Head Coach Daryl Schomer. “She knew she had a special round going, but she did a good job of sticking with the process, one shot at a time, and staying in the moment.”

“Golf is a sport that demands integrity, hard work and many other traits that go hand in hand with CSB’s values. Competing as a Bennie means I get to support everything Saint Ben’s stands for while playing a game I love. That makes me feel extremely lucky,” Renner concluded.

In September, College of Saint Benedict junior Emily Renner played the best single round of golf in school history during the two-day D3 Classic Invite at Emerald Greens in Hastings, Minnesota, hosted by Gustavus Adolphus College. The invite included 17 teams participating from Division III schools in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Renner completed the first round of the tournament with a fairly impressive 2-over-par 75, finishing with three birdies. But on the second day, Renner caught lightning in a bottle and played the best golf of her career, with four birdies and one eagle on the scorecard, to finish the second round with a 2-under-par 71 for a two-day total score of 146. With her second-round score of 71, the lowest score shot during the tournament, Renner earned medalist honors and placed 2nd individually out of 109 golfers. Renner’s round of 2-under-par 71 on a par 73 course is CSB golf’s official lowest

LOOK AT HER GO • #BENNIENATION and gobennies.com.

One Crazy Summer

After two summers without Reunion events, the campuses of Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s were ready to celebrate this past summer. So we made up for lost time with two separate weekend events packed with celebration and reconnection.

Bennie and Johnnie alums from graduation years ending in 2 and 7 gathered from June 24-26. Alums from 1 and 6 grad years came to campus from July 8-10.

Reunion 2022 (2 and 7)

Total attendance: 1,219

Bennie alumnae: 581

Johnnie alumni: 623

Best represented classes: 1982 (139), 1972 (116), 2017 (97)

Brigid Shea ’82 Distinguished Alumna Award Winner

Jona Turner Van Deun ’92 S. Emmanuel Renner Award Winner

Jackie Carlson Hayden ’12 Decade Award Winner

Giavana Bain Jones ’02 Benedictine Service Award Winner (accepting via Zoom from Bahamas)

Reunion 2022 (1 and 6)

Total attendance: 824

Bennie alumnae: 419

Johnnie alumni: 384

Best represented classes: 1991 (98), 1971 (83), 1976 (74)

Laurie Rivard ’81, S. Emmanuel Renner Award Winner; Deanna Suilmann ’76, Distinguished Alumna Award Winner; Shannon Preston ’11, Decade Award Winner (Dr. Patricia Schmitt Mische ’61, Benedictine Service Award Winner, was unable to attend)

ON THE

BY | GREG SKOOG (SJU ’89) AND ELLEN HUNTER GANS ’05

How come? Well, obviously, because it was a landmark initiative intent on creating more equitable access to education for women. And, when you think about it, that precisely describes what our founding sisters did almost 60 years earlier in opening the College of Saint Benedict. So we feel a bit of kinship with Title IX. And this year we’ve been happy to wish the legislation a happy 50th anniversary.

Defining IX

Title IX was enacted on June 23, 1972, to prohibit educational institutions from discriminating against students or employees based on sex. It reads: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

As a result, any school – from elementary to university (that’s just about every school) – must provide fair and equal treatment of the sexes in all areas.

What do we mean by “all areas”? The most visible areas today are athletics and protection from sex-based harassment (including sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence). But Title IX has also had a profound impact on recruiting, admissions, counseling, financial aid, employment, treatment of pregnant/ parenting students and treatment of LGBTQ+ students.

According to a report by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, prior to Title IX, female students generally weren’t allowed to take certain courses like auto mechanics or criminal justice (and male students couldn’t take home economics). Many

colleges required higher test scores and better grades from women to gain admission. And women living on campus weren’t allowed to stay out past midnight. (This last one was certainly a factor at CSB as well. Alumnae of the early 1970s no doubt remember the struggles to loosen the Hours restrictions.)

Once Title IX began opening doors, women rushed in boldly. Numbers from the U.S. Department of Education show that in 1973, 43% of female high school graduates enrolled in college. By 1994, that number grew to 63%. The enrollment graph shown here shows how the trend extended to women’s colleges like Saint Ben’s as well.

CSB Enrollment

Does it apply to us?

It DOES apply to the College of Saint Benedict, even though we’re a private institution, because we take federal funds in any number of ways. CSB receives funding from the federal government in the form of National Endowment for the Humanities or National Science Foundation grants we apply for. We receive funding from the federal government specific to individual students in the form of Pell Grants or federal loans our students take out. And that’s just to name a few.

It also applies to us even though we’re a “college for women,” because trans and nonbinary folks deserve access as well. You can see the way Title IX converges with our Benedictine values in the way our statement on What it Means to be a College for Women affirms that:

“As a college for women, CSB maintains a visible commitment to diversity and inclusion: including gender nonconforming and transgender people, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, people of various ages, people with limited economic means, and people of varying religious, spiritual and political beliefs. At CSB, we live our Benedictine value of respect for persons. This commitment requires ongoing intentionality and work to fully hear the perspectives of women and other marginalized groups. In our community, this intentionality is worthy and valued.”

Student Development under Strong Integration

One of the most visible aspects of the recent Strong Integration between Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s from a student’s perspective has been the creation of an associate provost for student success. Mary Geller, longtime vice president of student development at Saint Ben’s has been elevated to this role.

While residential life programming on each campus remains distinctly tailored to its student body, there are important advantages to a joint approach. For example, there will be a consistent student conduct process. Students will experience the same process regardless of which campus they are on. This will allow for similar data reports regarding conduct violations on either campus and allow each campus to design educational interventions based on trends. Overseeing that policy and compliance will fall to Geller. Connecting Student Development to the provost’s office will also link the curricular and co-curricular – optimizing the student experience inside and outside the classroom.

Associate Provost for Student Success Mary Geller

Selected responsibilities:

• Multicultural Student Services

• Outdoor University

Dean of Students, CSB Jody Terhaar

Selected responsibilities:

• Residential life/student activities

• Student conduct

• First-Year Experience liaison

• CSB Student Senate advisor

Assistant Dean of Students, CSB Marcia Mahlum

Selected responsibilities:

• Student conduct and care

• Risk management and campus emergency planning

TITLE IX REPORTING

• Family resources

• Well-Being Center

• Assessment of learning outcomes

Dean of Students, SJU Mike Connolly

Selected responsibilities:

• Residential life/student activities

• Student conduct

• First-Year Experience liaison

• SJU Student Senate advisor

(Interim) Assistant Dean of Students, SJU Amanda Erdman

Selected responsibilities:

• Student conduct and care

• Risk management and campus emergency planning

In cases where a student chooses to make a report of an alleged violation of the CSB and SJU joint sexual misconduct policy, our practice is to “investigate and promptly seek the equitable resolution.” That takes a thorough and carefully considered process.

The Title IX section of our website was updated this summer to make it more accessible and usable for students. The policy has been reformatted to be more readable and jump links on the page make the site much easier to navigate. The procedure has been reformatted and slightly revised to make it easier to understand and follow. You can learn much more at csbsju.edu/title-ix

Saint Ben’s students are able to talk about options for reporting, support and resources by contacting Title IX Coordinator Tamara Hennes-Vix. “Talking to the Title IX Office does not automatically activate a complaint process,” clarifies Hennes-Vix.

The ongoing impact of Project EMBRACE

Project EMBRACE is a three-year CSB and SJU grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW), currently on a three-month extension, scheduled to expire on Dec. 31. The work done in this area over the last three years with the help of this grant has been valuable, intentional and wide-ranging. Its impact will be felt for a long time and many of its initiatives will continue into the future.

Grant partners

Grant work groups

1. Student Conduct

This group’s efforts center on enhancing the student conduct process for cases of sexual assault, dating/ domestic violence and stalking. Special attention is paid to cultural competency and underserved student populations through ongoing training efforts. The Student Conduct work group has also reviewed policies and protocols to ensure a traumainformed, survivor-centered approach to the student conduct process.

2. Comprehensive Prevention

Grant funds have gone to ensuring and enhancing mandatory training requirements such as:

• Prevention education for incoming first-year students

• Bystander intervention training

Student partner groups include the Johnnie Development Institute, the Institute for Women’s Leadership and CERTS (a student/staff partnership focused on Consent, Equality, Respect, Talking and Safety).

This work group also spearheaded development of an awareness campaign launched this fall across both campuses called Make it Known, intended to:

• declare behaviors that our community won’t tolerate

• encourage bystander intervention

• create awareness of victim services available to our campus community

3. Victim Services

With this group’s help, QR codes on posters displayed throughout the campuses link students directly to the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center to schedule an appointment with an advocate. The Victim Services work group has also focused on trauma-informed training (exploring the neurobiology of trauma and the range of responses to it) for CSB

Campus Security staff, SJU Life Safety staff and staff across the student conduct sphere.

4. Law Enforcement/Campus Security

Grant funds have provided traumainformed training for the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department, St. Joseph Police Department, and campus security officers. Grant efforts have also helped provide supportive resources for victims who make reports.

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

So we recognize the impact that Title IX legislation has had on women’s access to higher education, the transformation of women’s athletics, and the ongoing work toward challenging gender-based inequities and eradicating gender-based violence. In this, its 50th year, we celebrate the ongoing fight for the rights of all those who face discrimination based upon gender.

And we all agree Title IX is great. It’s definitely been a game changer, right? Well … that depends on who you ask. According to a poll conducted in May by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the National Women’s History Museum, 61% of men say the U.S. has made a great deal of progress toward gender equality since 1972. However, only 37% of women agreed.

Issues like continued wage gaps and battles over women’s reproductive rights were cited by skeptical women in the poll. In an Associated Press article covering the poll, Shiwali Patel, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, cites what she sees as the law’s impacts and shortcomings: “More women are getting scholarships, participating in college sports and landing faculty jobs. But there has also been resistance to continued involvement, especially in the fight against sexual harassment and violence.”’

That last one is an important point of emphasis at both the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. And we back it up with resources, effort and attention like the programs you just read about on page 16.

Can we lead the way forward?

As a women’s college, Saint Ben’s is something of a live laboratory experiment.

We get to see what it’s like when you create, designate and reserve student leadership positions exclusively for women. (As a fully coeducational institution, we wouldn’t be allowed to do that.)

We get to control our own athletic programs, adding varsity programs like the incoming lacrosse team because they suit our students rather than because they balance out between men and women.

This is not a criticism of Title IX in the slightest, but rather a claim on the opportunity we have before us. Historically, people who identify as men have been the dominant voice in this country. Title IX was supposed to help women “catch up,” for lack of a better term. Imagine what happens when we unapologetically elevate women and don’t simply let them lead, but make it so there’s no alternative.

Perhaps we start to make steps toward creating an environment where we’re no longer chasing down accountability for violations because the culture really does make those violations unthinkable. Imagine if women felt safe.

Saint Ben’s is by no means perfect. But we can move toward a microcosm of a society that’s more fundamentally egalitarian. In some ways we already are.

Fifty years ago, women needed to be protected by law simply to affirm their presence, participation and legal support.

Of men Of women

We can honor that legacy by evolving to a place where Title IX is no longer a resource for the already violated, but rather a reflection of the equity that already exists.

Does that seem like dreaming big?

It should. That’s what WE DO AT SAINT BEN’S.

Say the U.S. has made a great deal of progress toward gender equality since 1972.

WHO CHANGED

BY | KEVIN ALLENSPACH

While Title IX opened the door for equal participation in women’s sports, it has taken many courageous and talented women to charge over the threshold and create opportunities for their successors of the next five decades.

BENEDICT ATHLETICS

Saint Ben’s today boasts an athletic department that is strong and vibrant, plotting the next step in a competitive landscape for 12 different teams and hundreds of athletes. Recent facility improvements have vaulted CSB among the top schools in the MIAC and beyond.

Women choose Saint Ben’s in many cases because they can come here to compete and get that opportunity on stages like the NCAA Division III softball regional we hosted last spring.

Such an event would have sounded crazy in 1972. And while Title IX opened the door for

equal participation in women’s sports, it has taken many courageous and talented women to charge over the threshold and create opportunities for their successors of the next five decades.

To celebrate this history, CSB honored 51 of the school’s greatest and most influential student-athletes with special events on Oct. 22 as part of Family Weekend. You can check out the five all-decade teams, using the QR codes to the right. Every one of these athletes has a special story to tell about the ways access to athletics has shaped her past and her present. The next few pages feature four of them.

TODAY SAINT

HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT LAUNCHING PAD FOR WOMEN WHO COMPETE, LEAD AND EXCEL – IN COLLEGE AND BEYOND. LAST MONTH ON CAMPUS, WE HONORED THE 50 GREATEST ATHLETES EVER TO COMPETE AS BLAZERS AND BENNIES … AND ONE WHO DIDN’T HAVE THAT CHANCE.

The evening was filled with appearances by some of Saint Ben’s Athletics’ greatest stars and personalities like honoree Jennifer Nash Wright ’86 and former Athletic Director Margo Coleman.

S. Lois Wedl ’53 – forever Saint Benedict Athletics’ number-one fan –opened the event with a prayer and her reflections on life before Title IX.

TONI ST. PIERRE ’77

One of the most influential athletes in Saint Ben’s history never got to compete for Saint Ben’s. As a junior at Hopkins Eisenhower High School in spring 1972, Toni St. Pierre became one of two girls (the other was St. Cloud Technical High School senior tennis player Peg Brenden) to challenge the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) for the right to compete with boys in prep sports.

Her lawsuit helped lay the groundwork for what would become Title IX.

Toni was originally from Staples, Minnesota, but moved to Hopkins when she was 11. Early in her teens, she discovered her love for running and Nordic skiing. Since Hopkins had no girls cross-country, track or Nordic skiing teams, U.S. District Judge Miles Lord ruled the MSHSL was in violation of her 14th Amendment rights that prohibit discrimination based on sex.

As a high school junior she was a girls’ state champion and set a national record in the 880-yard run with a time of 2:18.3. Her senior year, 1973, she was a girls’ state champion in the mile. That fall, she enrolled

at Saint Ben’s. Once again though, she found herself at a school without a women’s team. (Cross country didn’t become a varsity sport at Saint Ben’s until 1983. Track & field wouldn’t follow until 1987-88.) So Toni became the first woman at CSB to compete in men’s athletics, joining the cross-country team at Saint John’s University.

Her statistics and results from those days are virtually non-existent. She had to participate as an independent in races because the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference prohibited athletes from representing a school they did not attend. But she opened the door for all the Saint Ben’s athletes to come behind her.

While a student at CSB, she also won the United States Ski Association Central Nordic championship in 1974. Coincidentally, another Hopkins graduate and SJU athlete, Tim Heisel, won the men’s race. He was two years older, and they married when he was 22 and she was 20. They had the first of three children four months after she graduated from Saint Ben’s, and she later became an obstetrical nurse with Fairview Health Systems.

She never retired from competition, however. She ran marathons and competed in triathlons and, at 58, was preparing for the Boston Marathon when she experienced leg pain and was diagnosed with a rare malignant cancer of the smooth muscle. Four days after her death on Feb. 2, 2013, she was recognized with a special merit award as a girls’ and women’s sports advocate on National Girls’ and Women’s Sports Day at the State Capitol Rotunda.

“She became an advocate for people and learned to stand up for what she believed in,” her youngest daughter, Alicia Jack, told the YWCA after it honored her mother by putting her name on the annual award for most improved athlete at the Minneapolis Women’s Triathlon. Alicia ran track for Boston University and posted a sub-fiveminute time in the mile – something even her mother had been unable to reach.

“I can’t imagine being told that you can’t (run or ski), or that you can only cheer for the boys,” Alicia said. “I’m grateful that somebody stood up … and that ‘someone’ was our mom.”

KATHERINE YARNOTT LOWRY ’92

Kathy Yarnott Lowry ’92 was always athletic.

“Growing up, I played soccer, softball, basketball, and I could’ve played varsity sports, but we couldn’t afford the gas for me to be picked up after varsity practices,” says Kathy, who graduated from Elk River High School in 1986. “My parents said I could play whatever the after-school bus would support. It taught me to be humble and have pride in what I did have, regardless of what level I got to play at. I never went to camps. I knew God had blessed me with athletic talent, so I used my down time at home to practice and refine my skills in my back yard, juggling, kicking or hitting a ball. I knocked out all our garage windows practicing a variety of sports.”

A genetic issue with her spine required multiple back surgeries during high school that also stunted her prep career. A nurse who cared for her in the hospital was a Saint Ben’s graduate and provided the inspiration to follow in her footsteps. So, when Kathy arrived at CSB and got healthy enough to compete, she tried out for the soccer team, which was in need of a goalkeeper –someone athletic and willing to take hard hits in the net. The coach offered her the position and she eagerly accepted.

Her career in the net speaks for itself. She was All-MIAC and team MVP during her junior and senior years and was the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America Player of the Year, NCAA Division III goalie of the year and the school’s first soccer All-American in 1990, en route to a 15-5-1 record and third-place finish in the national tournament.

As impressive as that was, she was just getting warmed up for a career that really took off in the Air Force. She became a flight nurse and joined a tactical unit from Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. She quickly became an instructor, deployed in Macedonia and Kosovo and became a unit commander and, later, group commander. Her final position was as chief nurse executive at the Air Force’s largest medical facility. After 24 years of active duty, she retired in 2017 as a colonel.

Today, she lives in Shalimar, Florida, right next to Eglin Air Force Base. She is retired, but volunteers at a free clinic for the underserved. She sees a comparison between how Title IX has elevated women’s sports and progress on other fronts since she was at Saint Ben’s.

“It’s like the progress we’ve made with diversity and against racism, or how we’ve tried to help people who are economically challenged,” Kathy says. “In the military, I saw so much change over the years with how women are treated. A lot of that change is modest, and there’s still more that needs to be done. With women’s athletics, we had pioneers in the ’70s who laid the foundation for Title IX and many others in the decades that followed. We need to continue promoting women’s athletics.”

In recent years she was diagnosed with a hypomobility disorder, a condition that affects the connective tissue of her joints and has led to a lot of ligament and tendon damage and arthritis, requiring several surgeries. In 2015, doctors told her she could no longer participate in impact activities like soccer and running. Otherwise, she’d still be competing.

“Sports are what I love,” she says. “If it wasn’t for that, I’d be playing soccer now. My mind wants to. My heart wants to. My joints won’t let me.”

ROBYN RUSCHMEIER COURCHANE ’99

Robyn Ruschmeier Courchane wanted to attend the festivities marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX at CSB, but there was a roadblock on her calendar: a volleyball match between Purdue and the University of Minnesota. Robyn, a standout volleyball and basketball player at Saint Ben’s, has gone on to a successful career as a volleyball referee. And it so happened that, as her peers were gathered on campus, she was at the net, working a match between teams ranked in the top 10 much of the fall, and before a Big Ten Network TV audience to boot.

She’s come a long way since growing up in Plato, Minnesota, playing three sports and never questioning her opportunity to do so. In fact, athletics was a major reason she came to Saint Ben’s.

“I had scholarship offers, but I wanted to play both (volleyball and basketball),” says Robyn, who also played softball before graduating from Glencoe High School in 1995. “At Saint Ben’s I could do that. (Basketball coach) Mike Durbin was the best at recruiting, and it was by far the best experience I could’ve asked for.”

In volleyball, she remains the all-time leader in career kills (1,771; 92 more than the

next-closest mark and only five players have come within 75% of her total). She led CSB to a 27-1 MIAC mark during her junior and senior years – the last time Saint Ben’s won back-to-back conference titles. In basketball, her 1,281 career points rank eighth all-time in school history and she remains in the top 10 for field-goal percentage, free-throws made, rebounds and blocked shots. During her junior and senior seasons, CSB went 53-4 overall –including a loss in the 1999 NCAA Division III national championship game.

For as great as those days were, Robyn says she and her teammates always knew the importance of Title IX. They were reminded by Carol Howe-Veenstra, the longtime athletic director and volleyball coach, as well as physical education faculty legend Margy Hughes and Sister Lois Wedl ’53 – perhaps the most dedicated fan in CSB history.

“They told us the stories and we had the benefit of their hard work in making it happen and building a program from nothing,” Robyn says. “To us in the 1990s, not having an opportunity wasn’t even a thought. But we owe that to the people that blazed those trails. And recognizing the

fact that there were people before us who didn’t have the chance to play makes you appreciate so much more that we did.”

Robyn says learning from failure and being part of a team with varying personalities were two of the biggest lessons athletics taught her, and she can’t imagine how her life would be different if she hadn’t played. A music major, she went on to work more than 15 years for Marco Technologies. For the past five, she has been a senior consultant with Procise Solutions. A flexible schedule makes it possible for her to jet around the country – mostly up and down the Central time zone – in her other career, officiating volleyball matches in the Big Ten, Missouri Valley, Big East, Horizon, Big 12 and Summit leagues.

“It’s nice to still compete,” says Robyn, who began working basketball and volleyball games right out of college but eventually focused on the latter. “Most people don’t realize that officials compete with each other, too. It’s friendly, but we want to be able to take that next step and get to the next round of the NCAA tournament – just like the teams.”

BETH HANSON HILL ’10

Beth Hanson Hill’s grandfather, Duane Van Orsow (SJU ’51), was such a legendary coach at Bethlehem Academy in Faribault, Minnesota, that the school gym is named for him. He attended Saint John’s, and had 11 children, including eight daughters – one of whom, Donna, tied for second in team scoring with the Saint Ben’s basketball team in 1981-82 and eventually became Beth’s mother.

“My mom is a huge inspiration to me,” says Beth, who played volleyball, basketball and softball in high school and was allstate in each. “She coached me through youth sports, and I learned a lot from her example about how much sports meant to her. When I think of Title IX, I’m just so thankful to those who paved the way for me to have these extraordinary experiences that I’ve had and continue to have. It has opened so many doors to brighter futures with fewer limits and encouraged women to go out and do more.”

Beth played in four consecutive state prep volleyball championship matches, winning two, and her team only lost 10 times in four years – all to state champs. She played volleyball and softball at CSB. In volleyball, she was an All-American and remains the school’s all-time assists leader and led the team to an MIAC title as a junior and three NCAA tournament berths. In softball, she played first base, was named to the AllMIAC sportsmanship team and, as a senior, led CSB with three home runs.

And she knew sports wouldn’t end for her at graduation.

“I always wanted to be a teacher and a coach,” says Beth, an education major. She taught kindergarten and coached volleyball and basketball at West Central Area High School for several years and now has moved on to Cedar Mountain High School in Morgan, Minnesota, where she is the volleyball coach.

“My athletic background is what really shaped me and gave me the foundation for where I am today, especially forming the leadership and character skills that are so important,” says Beth, who was named to the Fairbault Sports Hall of Fame. “I teach kindergarten, and I absolutely love it. But I also find it very important to empower young women through a sports culture to learn everything they can on and off the court. The life lessons they go through help them become great women with bright futures.

“It’s a great balance. I love the little ones because they are so excited to learn. But then I also love the highly driven competitive ones that I see among the varsity girls.”

In between those groups, now, is her eight-year-old daughter, Ellie.

“She does everything,” Beth says. “Any sport that you can sign her up for, she wants to do.”

Sounds like a chip off the old block.

“I can’t imagine my life without sports,” Beth says. “That’s why I’m just so thankful to the people who came before me and paved the way.”

SUZANNE SPELLACY ’87

GENERAL COUNSEL, MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES AND LYNX

When Suzanne Spellacy graduated from Saint Ben’s in 1987 with a degree in English, she worked as a marketing writer and designer. She even thought about going to graduate school and becoming an English professor.

Eventually though, “I decided that I thought my strengths were in something that was more analytical. That’s when I chose law as a path,” she says.

But her liberal arts background served as a terrific foundation for her career in law – refining the writing and critical thinking skills she says are so important. “I would say my liberal arts education helped me see connections between things that may not seem obvious, and taught me to think creatively about new challenges.”

In summer 2021, Suzanne (a 1992 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School) was named general counsel for both the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. As such, she has responsibility for all legal matters including contract negotiations, corporate transactions, intellectual property, dispute resolution, employment law and league rules and regulations.

“I just love being in an organization and the league that is on the leading edge in so many ways,” Suzanne says, “whether it’s social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as pioneering technologies and new experiences for our fans.”

She’s especially energized by the sports industry’s growth in employing

people from diverse backgrounds. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are definitely leading the way in that area,” she says, “so I’m excited to play a role in our focus on diversity and equity inclusion and to serve on our Women in Sports Leadership steering committee.

“The career lesson I’ve learned over time is to choose opportunities that allow you to work with people with whom you can build trusting relationships. That is really the basis of my excitement about joining the Timberwolves and Lynx – the amazing people I’m working with every day.”

First-year residence hall Aurora

Favorite class

British literature with Janet McNew, Ph.D.

Favorite professor

Dr. Janet McNew was my favorite professor. She was my first-year seminar professor and became my adviser throughout college. She helped me understand my strengths, and she continuously encouraged me to push myself. Looking back, she was one of the most influential people in my academic career.

Favorite Bennie memory

During freshman year we had just gotten back to school from a break and overnight it snowed so much we got a snow day! We all had food our parents had sent back with us, and we sat around our dorm the whole day and talked, watched daytime TV shows and ate the favorite foods everyone had brought from home.

MILESTONES

1977 Mary Gehlen Seifert published two books: Maverick, Movies & Murder (June ’22) and Rescues, Rogues & Renegade (July ’22).

1980 Nancy Owens retired from Thomson Reuters, May ’22.

1982 Katherine “Kate” Lenci Maguire was selected to serve as interim superintendent for the Anoka Hennepin School District for the 2022-23 school year, July ’22.

1988

’88

was named a 2022 ATHENA Award recipient, June ’22. Geri is vice president of operations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota. She was nominated for this award because of her dedication to mentoring women and girls professionally as well as through personal mentorships and community partnerships.

Pauline Maki, Ph.D., was appointed as associate dean of affairs for the University of Illinois College of Medicine, June ’22. UI-COM is the second largest medical school in the U.S. with more than 1,100 salaried faculty across its three campuses (Chicago, Rockford and Peoria).

Margrette Nemanich Newhouse, director of the Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship at CSB and SJU, has joined the board of directors for Stearns Financial Services, Inc., Aug. ’22.

1990 Margaret Murphy was named a 2022 Notable Women Entrepreneur by Twin Cities Business Magazine, Aug. ’22.

1991 Dana Anderson-Helstrom published There’s Nothing We Can’t Do about persevering during her son Tucker’s cancer diagnosis, Dec. ’21. Dana is executive director at Team Tucker: Play Laugh Love.

1992

1990

’90

SUANNE DREWS BARTHOL received the Omicron Delta Kappa Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for 2022 at Wittenberg University, April ’22. This award is voted on by the students and is awarded to a faculty member with less than five years of service at the university.

LUANNE KINNEY PEDERSON

was appointed senior vice president and general counsel of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, May ’22. LuAnne is responsible for daily management of the Law Department. Her primary areas of practice are employment law and ethics, but she also provides advice on a wide variety of legal issues.

’94

MELISSA VOELLER WILDERMITH,

’92

global creative director at General Mills, and her team won a Grand Clio award in 2021 for Loki Charms (a limited edition Lucky Charms cereal), a Marvel Studio collaboration with Lucky Charms. Her team also helped Tommie Smith (an Olympic athlete who raised his fist in protest for racial injustice at the 1968 games) realize his dream of being on the cover of the Wheaties cereal box.

’98

SUSAN SIMCOX STEINHAGEN

serves as the president of Project Consulting Group, a 20-year-old boutique management consulting group that serves clients around the world from their headquarters in Minneapolis.

’93

CAMI LONGSTREET ZIMMER

was recognized by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal for a Women in Business Award, May ’22. Cami is chief business officer at Glympse, Inc.

KEEP

1994 1998 1999 Share your

’99

KELLY GRINSTEINNER

was hired as the first executive director of Angel Fund in Hibbing, Minnesota, May ’22. Angel Fund is a nonprofit that provides financial assistance to Northeastern Minnesota residents battling cancer.

key moments and milestones with your classmates and friends. Email us at

2002 Rebecca Pryor received the Teachers of Distinction award from New Horizon Academy, May ’22.

2003 Amy Moeller was named one of Twin Cities Orthopedics’ top doctors, Aug. ’22.

2004 Jasna Burza founded Uplevel Together Mastermind in Minneapolis, bringing together women entrepreneurs to work together for four months, building connections that bring new discoveries and community in a sometimes very isolated industry. Most recently, she has started another option called DONE, Not Perfect Club, an online option to allow people all over the world to work with each other on a weekly basis.

2005 Heather Parker Plumski is executive vice president and chief financial and strategy officer at Stearns Bank, St. Cloud, and was named to Twin Cities Business Magazine’s Notable Women in Banking & Finance, April ’22. In addition, she will be recognized by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal at their annual CFO of the Year awards, Nov. ’22.

2006 Maria Carrow Ryan was named one of Twin Cities Orthopedics’ top doctors, Aug. ’22.

2008 Gretchen Enninga was named to the Top 100 Women in Sustainability by Sustainability Magazine, April ’22. Gretchen is currently the director of sustainability for United Health Group.

Jessica Handwerk Wildes graduated from UW Oshkosh with her master’s in public administration, May ’22.

2010 Tasha Truskolaski was promoted to assistant general counsel at Mutual of Omaha, June ’22. She provides legal counsel to the enterprise focusing on product and regulatory issues associated with individual life and health insurance products. 2012

2012 Anna Wigtil is a prospect identification analyst at the University of Nebraska Foundation, April ’22.

2013 Morgan Dale Blaskowki was inducted into the Jamestown (Minnesota) High School Hall of Fame, Aug. ’22. Morgan played basketball at CSB, where she earned all-conference honors for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. During her college career she scored 739 points and pulled down 682 rebounds.

Julie Bode graduated from the Minneapolis Fire Academy and is now a full-time firefighter for the city of Minneapolis, Aug. ’22.

Hudda Ibrahim received the Outstanding Impact Award from St. Cloud Community and Technical College, May ’22. This award recognizes a faculty member who has had a positive impact on the lives of graduates at SCTCC. Furthermore, Hudda is serving on the Central Minnesota Community Foundation’s board of directors, Aug. ’22.

2015 Meghan Flannery was awarded the 2022 Professor Robert McCluggage Award from the history department at Loyola University Chicago for her research paper titled, “Chicago’s Bicentennial Spirit: Chicago’s Celebrations of the United States’ 200th Birthday, 1975-1976.” She graduated with a master’s degree in public history from Loyola University Chicago in May ’22.

Samantha Hurrle published The Mark, a novel blending elements of fantasy, spirituality and historical fiction, June ’22.

2016 Allison Steen joined the HEC Paris MBA program with the class of 2024 as a Forte Foundation Fellow, June ’22.

Jessica Thurin was quoted in an article from the Minneapolis StarTribune regarding how inflation is affecting a decline in access to indigenous foods, Aug. ’22.

Anais Wittrock-Roske was featured in VoyageMinnesota (June ’22) for her work as a UX/UI designer. Her role includes researching how humans interact with digital products, specifically telehealth, and then creating interfaces that help users accomplish their health goals.

2017 Shannon Murphy graduated with a master of arts in theology and ministry from Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, May ’22.

2018 Chelsea Schwarzkopf Sammons was promoted to director of education and community engagement for the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (Davenport, Iowa), May ’22. Chelsea has served as the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensemble’s (QCSYE) General Manager and is an oboe teacher in the QCSO private lesson program.

MARRIAGES

1994 Sarah Austad Biros to Scott Moore, Aug. ’21

Christine Rick to Derek Wiles, Sept. ’21

2004 Amber Kangas to Zakaria Houari, March ’22

2005 Morgan Fasching to Paul Holm, Feb. ’21

2006 April Thorsbakken to Jacob West, July ’21

2009 Laura Adams to Nicholas Horne, May ’21

Jessica Baxter to David Schmeltzer, Dec. ’21

2011 Megan Atkinson to Brandon Wolf ’08, Aug. ’22

Ellen Dehmer to Max Tsai, May ’22

Christa Schmidt to Evan Johnston, May ’22

2012 Lauren Mueller to Joel Doran, April ’22

Carlin Stiles to Nicholas Mayhew ’12, Jan ’22

2013 Morgan Dale to Nicholas Blaskowski, July ’21

Jennifer Spellacy to Nicholas Peterson, June ’22

2014 Jordanne Kissner to Christopher Johnston, Nov. ’21

Chelsea Komarek to Stuart Fogarty ’14, May ’22

Allison Ley to Kevin Pfeil, Oct. ’21

KELLEY KNAPEK

won a 2022 Heroes of Infection Prevention award for leadership through the Association of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Aug. ’22. She created the infection preventionist training program at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette, Colorado.

Colleen

Virginia “Gini” Todd Brink completed a master’s degree in public health-health promotion at Liberty University, May ’22.

2018 Precious Drew was profiled in Essence (www.essence.com), where she describes how she positioned herself for success as a leader and entrepreneur, as well as her drive to help other women do the same, May ’22.

Cornwell Godfrey bought a framing shop and art gallery in Seattle, Washington, called Baas Framing Studio, May ’22.

KATHERINE MURNANE TO MATT KORTE, AUG. ’22

2014 Abby Schmidt to Evan Miller ’14, Dec. ’21

Katie Spoden to Austin Eichen ’14, May ’22

Mariah Thompson to Christopher Osen, Oct. ’21

Kelly Winsor to Michael Canavati, July ’21

Rachel Wuebben to Aaron Sauvageau, Sept. ’21

2015 Molly Flaig to Derrick Gorden, Sept. ’22

2017 Libby Cronican to Andrew Menendez, Feb. ’22

Madelyn Haug to Taylor Manning ’17, July ’21

Samantha Reamer to Keith Huber, Oct. ’21 Karissa Ressemann to Jerad Schmitz, Sept. ’21

Madeleine Roberts to Jared Ridge ’17, Sept. ’21

Samantha Rutten to Michael Beckmann ’17, April ’22

2017 Gina Santella to Jacob Woolfrey ’17, June ’22

2018 Jessica Ayd to Leonard Abel, Oct. ’21

Andrea Loftus to Thomas Stanton ’18, June ’22

Kalila Moua to Andy Yang, May ’22

2019 Mackenzie Kuhl to James Gathje ’19, Aug. ’22

Kennedy Peitz to Bradey Kamish ’19, July ’22

Taylor Rod to Robert Fellers, May ’21

Tiffany Stumpf to Thomas Oeltjen, Jan. ’22

2020

’17

2016 Caitlin O’Brien to Alexander Leivermann ’16, Dec. ’21

Elizabeth Sloan to John Sunde, Aug. ’22

2017

ELIZABETH CRONIN TO CLAYTON DECKER, SEPT. ’22

Courtney Mueller to Benjamin Alvord ’19, June ’22

Haileigh Sales to Colten Kruzel, June ’22

Hannah Wohletz to Michael Frye ’18, Aug. ’22

2021 Allison Mueller to Ted Olson, July ’22

2022 Mariah Bruner to Cole Mathison ’22, June ’22

Megan Kohout to Christopher Goddard Jr., May ’22

BIRTHS / ADOPTIONS

2004 Katherine Beesch & Tom Dale, boy, Rexford, July ’21

2006 Danielle Purcell Lohbeck & Eric Lohbeck, girl, Kinsley, June ’22

Elizabeth Schiller Schroeder & Jared Schroeder, boy, Jordan, Jan. ’22

2007 Molly Moriarty Rusin & Spencer Rusin, boy, Bryce, Sept. ’21

Lindy Watanaskul & Zachary Bikus ’07, boy, Thomas, July ’22

2008 Amanda Trusty Mahoney & Timothy Mahoney, girl, McKenna, April ’22

Adrianne Racek Mallen & Joseph Mallen, boy, Thomas. Aug. ’22

2009 Mary Deputie & Foster Killen, boy, Langston, June ’22

Emily Simone Harrison & John Harrison ’07, girl, Josephine, Dec. ’20

2010

EMILY MILLER ORR & NATHAN ORR ’11, BOY, ARCHER, APRIL ’22

Melissa “MJ” Bach & Jacob Hagedorn, girl, Greta, Jan. ’22

Quinn Bennett Krebsbach & John Krebsbach ’08, boy, Jude, Aug. ’22

Megan Koenig Schroeder & Ryan Schroeder ’09, boy, Gavin, Aug. ’21

2011 Tiana Woitas FitzSimmons & Eric FitzSimmons, boy, Leo, June ’22

Delaney Lundeen Long & Joseph Long ’13, boy, Jackson, Sept. ’21

Lindsay Williams Palaniappan & Vignesh Palaniappan, girl, Sylvie, Nov. ’21

2012 Katee Rotty Apelgren & Jayce Apelgren, girl, Elodie, March ’22

Michelle McFarlane Barnett & James Barnett ’12 (SOT ’21), boy, Noah, June ’22

2012 Stephanie Battista Cahill & Benedict “Benny” Cahill ’11, boy, Charles, July ’22

Shannon Stadelman Effertz & Tyler Effertz ’12, girl, Emaline, April ’22

Kelley Knapek & Dalton Buysse ’12, boy, Simon, Feb. ’22

2013

2013

’13

BREANN KLUCK BUTTS & JOHNNY BUTTS, GIRL, PIPER, JULY ’22

Meghan Simmet Hermes & Daniel Hermes ’13, girl, Lucy, Nov. ’21

Sarah Kruger Hilger & Andrew Hilger ’13, girl, Josephine, June ’22

Alivia Tison & Collin Motschke ’13, girl, Matilda, June ’22

KATHLEEN

JAMESON PAYNE & LOGAN PAYNE ’20, GIRL, IRIS, JUNE ’22

2014 Erin Wissler Gerdes & Harrison Gerdes ’14, girl, Annabelle, July ’22

Magdalen Morris Graves & Dylan Graves ’14, girl, Eleanor, June ’22

Kayla Anderson Kerin & Sean Kerin, girl, Maeve, Jan. ’22

Amanda Dvorak Nicholas & Alex Nicholas ’14, girl, Florence, Feb. ’22

Rachel Michaelis Peloquin & Roman Peloquin, boy, Ryder, Feb. ’20 & girl, Rory, June ’22

Let’s start the conversation now, so your voice can carry on through generations. A legacy gift of any size pays exponential returns. It’s an investment in ambitious, promising women – women who will honor your legacy with transformative, world-changing impact. Make a bequest through your will or trust, name CSB as a beneficiary, or establish a charitable gift annuity.

2014 Emily Roberts Roane & James Roane ’14, girl, Eloise, Aug. ’22

Bernadette Martinez Yarbrough & Kale Yarbrough, boy, Theodore, Aug. ’22

Alul Yesak & Joseph Nelson ’14, boy, Aksum, Jan. ’22

2015 Samantha Ellingson Aabel & Lucas Aabel ’15, girls, Vivian, Oct. ’19 & Margot, Feb. ’22

Alyssa Chromy Hutcherson & Mike Hutcherson, boy, Arlo, Sept. ’21

Taya Kockelman Lindahl & Aaron Lindahl, boy, Brooks, Sept. ’21

Morgan McGrath Otterstetter & Christopher Otterstetter ’13, boy, Callan, May ’22

Alissa Lager Plasky & Trevor Plasky ’15, boy, Louis, May ’22

SOPHIA KORMAN WOCKEN & JOSEPH WOCKEN ’15, BOY, WILLY, JUNE ’22

2016 Lauren Patton Eich & Zachary Eich ’15, girl, Amelia, April ’22 & boy, Oliver, Aug. ’20

Ashley Winden Hansen & Jack Hansen ’16, boy, Oliver, July ’22

Alyssa Gustafson Nimmo & Michael Nimmo ’14, girl, Rhea, Dec. ’21

Megan Grengs Hegseth & Andrew Hegseth ’16, twin girls, Palmer & Elin, May ’22

2018 Christine Koch Butorac & Matthew Butorac ’11, girl, Penny, March ’22

Shelby Nelson Fasching & Jeff Fasching, boy, Carter, April ’22

2019 Hannah Schumacher-Renner Ducote & Andrew Ducote, girl, Elisabeth, May ’22

DEATHS

1943 Bernadette Loosbroek Taylor, Aug. ’22

1944 Gloria Reel Budik, Jan. ’22

1945 Rosemary O’Keefe Ebnet, July ’22

1947 Ronayne Gans Faloon, Jan. ’22

Sandra Fleischhacker, OSB, Sept. ’22

Margaret Askin Pflepsen, mother of Sharon Pflepsen Puetz ’72 & Laurie Pfelpsen Johnson ’74, Aug. ’22

1948 Margaret Burns Lytle, July ’22

Viola Braegelmann Nistler, mother of Marilyn Nistler Kelly ’74 & Patricia Nistler Kordiak ’82, April ’22

1949 June Carter Birnstihl, April ’21

1950 Vivian Hartung Forsberg, mother of Emily Forsberg Wenstad ’87, July ’22

1954 Marilyn Moorman, July ’19

1957 Linda (Valeria) Kulzer, OSB, May ’22

Sydney “Ken” Wood, spouse of Louise Enneking Wood, April ’22

Louise Enneking Wood, July ’22

1958 Roger Scherer ’58, spouse of Irma Gentilini Scherer, Aug. ’22

1959 Maureen Riley Berkner, Aug. ’22

Margaret Forster Colbert, Dec. ’21

Gloria Roa Fraser, Aug. ’19

John Holl, spouse of Marjorie Lonergan Holl, June ’22

Marjorie Werner Marthaler, Nov. ’20

Carol Coyne Pumper, Jan. ’22

Kathreen “Kay” Hofmann Thomey, Aug. ’22

1960 Melford Opstad, spouse of Arlene Inderrieden Opstad, June ’22

1961 James Ryan ’60, spouse of Diane Crosby Ryan & father of Kathleen Ryan ’93, Dec. ’21

1962 Mary Lynch Berres, July ’22

Thomas Kelly, spouse of Mary Muchlinski Kelly, July ’22

Darlene Notch Thielman, May ’22

’16

Bernadine Bitzan Schiele, Sept. ’22

Ethel Becker Weippert, July ’21

1952 Charles Wenner ’52, spouse of Nancy Burns Wenner & father of Mary Kay Wenner Morris ’88, May ’22

1963 Marie Bower Jirele, June ’22

’17

1964 Daniel Anderson ’65, spouse of Geraldine Malinsky Anderson, father of Lisa Anderson Leininger ’87, Dana Anderson O’Brien ’91 & Sara Anderson O’Rourke ’98, April ’22

Carol Maslowski Brand, May ’22

Kathleen Hammers Goulet, mother of Kristine Goulet Romain ’90, April ’22

David Knecht, spouse of Barbara Johnson Knecht, June ’22

Donna Nugent Pirmantgen, Jan. ’18

1965 Dean Sakry ’67, spouse of Janice Hutton Sakry, Oct. ’21

1966 Paula (Chloe) Revier, OSB, July ’22

1968 Marie (Alda) Gerads, OSB, July ’22 Sheila Milner, Sept. ’22

Marjorie Portele Rierson, May ’22

1969 Cynthia Clare-Johnson, Sept. ’12

Adolph Gayle, spouse of Felicie Hazeur Gayle, July ’22

Louise (Redempta) Koltes, OSB, Aug. ’22

Lorraine Kraft, OSB, July ’22

Carolyn Hennen Peterson, Aug. ’22

Judith Gretz Roy, Sept. ’15

Michael Setzer ’68, spouse of Kathleen Waddick Setzer, May ’22

1972 Philip Sakry, spouse of Jean Flanagan Sakry, father of Alison Sakry LaTourell ’98 & Tracy Sakry Lewis ’00, July ’22

1974 Elizabeth Hurdt Kauck, March ’22

1975 Lois Boes, mother of Karen Boes Oman & Sandra Boes O’Brien ’79, June ’22

1976 Christine Ward Carter, July ’22

Norman James, spouse of Suzanne Day James, April ’22

Jan Jordet, April ’22

1977 Eleanor Gregory, mother of Ann Gregory Brownell, June ’22

Ann Maurer, mother of Patricia Maurer Dols, Aug. ’22

Rita Staloch, mother of Sheila Staloch Nolan, May ’22

Eleanor McDonald, mother of Maria McDonald Pederson & Patrice McDonald Culhane ’80, June ’22

Jerry Schoenborn, spouse of Bernice Zimmermann Schoenborn, Sept. ’22

1978 Eleta Pumper Donaldson, April ’22

Therese Johnson Heath, May ’21

Mary Kosel Baker, mother of Nancy Baker Hoffarth, Nov. ’21

Lawrence Petroske, father of Marilee Petroske Johnson, Aug. ’22

Jennifer Olson Kareken, Sept. ’22

Clara Dolan, mother of Mary Lou Dolan Thue, June ’22

1979 Marrietta Johnson Adderley, Sept. ’10

Therese Ratelle, mother of Marguerite Ratelle Baumer & Mary Brigid Ratelle Spence ’84, April ’22

Ardwin Hamer, spouse of Theresa Leach Hamer, Aug. ’22

Miralda McDonald Minnis, Aug. ’20

Laura Ritchie, Oct. ’20

Leonard Busch ’54, father of Suzanne Busch Ross & Karen Busch Donlin ’84, Aug. ’22

Melinda Shamp, Dec. ’21

Leonie Elliott Sweeting, March ’20

1980 Ramon Thomes ’52, father of Catherine Thomes Behrens, June ’22

Shirley Gebhardt, mother of Laurie Gebhardt Bolin, Lisa Gebhardt Beckmann ’83, Leslie Gebhardt Tait ’84 & Lynda Gebhardt Reeder ’86, May ’22

John Schindler, father of Jane Schindler Kirby Deuterman, July ’22

Gerald Hendricks ’57, father of Laurie Hendricks Pitsenbarger, Leslie Hendricks Masterson ’81 & Kristi Hendricks ’84, June ’22

Marlys Morin, mother of Faye Morin Siegler, June ’22

1981 Jerry Thoreen, father of Julie Thoreen Birkedal & Sarah Thoreen ’91, June ’22

Rosalie Frie, mother of Patricia Frie Mattos & Margaret Frie Hughes ’85, Jan. ’22

M. Ann Loulan Kilbride, mother of Sheila Kilbride Shusterich, July ’21

1982 Allan Broberg, spouse of Mary Gerdes Broberg, Sept ’21

William Samsa, father of Donna Samsa Miliotis, July ’22

Benedict Olk, father of Mary Olk, June ’22 Bernice Hockert, mother of Kathleen Hockert Oschwald, May ’22

Jane Wacker Zophy, April ’22

1983 Mary Ellen Gilloley Barrett, mother of Sharon Gilloley Fossum, April ’22

Harry Stevens, father of Stacy Stevens Fraser, June ’22

Shirley Mickelson, mother of Debra Mickelson Kirst, May ’22

Donald Lorenz, spouse of Evelyn Stapf Lorenz, April ’22

1984 Jane Effertz, June ’22

John Speltz, father of Marguerite “Meg” Speltz Kelley and Collette Speltz Szitta ’87, July ’22

Kimberly Schmidt McNabb, Sept. ’22

Patricia Gilligan, mother of Deborah Gilligan Windschitl, July ’22

1985 Leone Folkens, mother of Kay Folkens Geving, July ’22

1985 Duane Prew, father of Cynthia Prew Hennen, July ’22

Charles Pelzel, father of Amy Pelzel Ogram, July ’22

Rosemary Kuny, mother of Janine Kuny Terhaar & Jennifer Kuny Solon ’94, June ’22

Ronald Schmidt, father of Therese Schmidt Tjaden, July ’22

1986 Carol Lortz, mother of Lori Lortz Cleland, June ’22

Francis Meierhofer, father of Cheryl Jo Meierhofer Protus & Julie Meierhofer Maruska ’92, June ’22

James Mayer, father of Susan Mayer Mielke & Patricia Mayer ’89, July ’22

Christine Peterson VanderVoort, Nov. ’21

1987 Glenn Schaufler, father of Terri Schaufler Furmanski & Kelly Schaufler Payette ’89, May ’22

Vonda Schaufler, mother of Terri Schaufler Furmanski & Kelly Schaufler Payette ’89, Aug. ’22

Robert Haarman, father of Patricia Haarman, May ’22

Barbara Janisch, mother of Karen Janisch, May ’22

Nicole Bunn Morton, mother of Juli Bunn Sanders, June ’22

Brenda Zapzalka Spoden, mother of Cassandra Spoden ’16, Sept. ’22

Roselyn Sweeney, mother of Elisabeth Koenig Sweeney, Sept. ’22

1988 Joanne Dick, mother of Carolyn Dick, June ’22

Elizabeth St. Angelo, mother of Anne St. Angelo, Aug. ’22

Nancy Tracy, mother of Tracy Tracy, July ’22

1989 Geraldine Wensmann, mother of Karen Schiffler Franke & Nancy Schiffler Wehseler ’91, July ’22

Idella McPhee, Aug. ’13

Roger Delles, father of Nancy Delles Skuta, July ’22

1990 Martin Deignan, father of M. Colleen Deignan Koll, Kathleen Deignan McGrane ’93 & Sara Deignan Thompson ’99, May ’22

Ronald Dressel, father of Brenda Dressel Leuer, Bonnie Dressel Vos ’95 & Angela Dressel Heimerl ’02, Aug. ’22

Mary Kroth, mother of Elizabeth Kroth Manning, May ’22

1991 Kathryn “Jennie” Lightfoot, mother of Julie Hutcheson-Downwind, May ’22

George Skrbich, father of Nicole Skrbich Kunkel & Stefanie Skrbich ’93, April ’22

Dorothy Kenney, mother of Judy Kenney Munshower, April ’22

1991 James Segel, father of Ann-Marie Segel Stojevich, April ’22

1992 Michael Zirbes, father of Paula Zirbes Chapulis, Aug. ’22

Anthony Heinzmann, father of Deborah Heinzmann, July ’22

Roger Wigen, father of Tracy Wigen Johnson, June ’22

Clyde Turner, father of Rosemarie Turner Tolliver, Aug. ’22

1993 Robert Oberstar, father of Patricia Oberstar Chamberlin, April ’22

Molly Flannagan, daughter of Ann Crewson Flannagan ’66, April ’22

1994 Ruth Linn, mother of Stephanie Linn-Ellis, Sept. ’22

1995 Phyllis Hylla, mother of Stephanie Hylla & Jessica Hylla ’99, May ’22

James Logeais, spouse of Renee Jost Logeais, May ’22

1996 Kenneth Frank, father of Deborah Frank, April ’22

Loretta Pfannenstein, mother of Ann Pfannenstein Stuckart, June ’22

Patricia Langer, mother of Sarah Langer Takagi, July ’22

1997 Harold Johnson, father of Kristine Johnson Enno, Nov. ’21

1997 Gerald Nelson, father of Amybeth Nelson Loesch, May ’22

Douglas Helm, father of Martha Helm Neururer, July ’22

1998 James Tesky, father of Tamera Tesky Ausen, April ’22

Joyce Buerman, mother of Amanda Buerman, Sept. ’22

Ruth Gramke, mother of Julie Gramke, Sept. ’22

Dennis Vipond, father of Jill Vipond Veldhouse & Hayley Vipond Munsell ’01, Aug. ’22

1999 Riana Skogstad Barry (along with spouse Sean Barry and daughters Shiway and Sadie), April ’22

Joseph Schoenecker, father of Kellie Schoenecker Migliaccio, July ’22

David Kluempke, father of Shari Kluempke Rieland, June ’22

2000 Colleen Smoot, mother of Misty Smoot Cotton, July ’22

Charles Evans, father of Jennifer Evans Jennrich, April ’22

Michael Lombard, spouse of Kimberly Sticha Lombard, Sept. ’22

Edward Marsh, father of Kourtney Marsh Zvanovec, May ’22

2001 James Vanyo, father of Lisa Vanyo Ouren, Aug. ’22

2002 David Frye, father of Kathryn Frye, Aug. ’22

Edwin Koenig, father of Sara Koenig Martin, July ’22

Terrence Morgel, father of Miranda Morgel Nichols, July ’22

2004 Katherine Beesch, May ’22

2005 Josephine “Zoey” Orth, daughter of Heather Isaackson Orth & Michael Orth ’05, Aug. ’22

Celestine Funk, father of Samantha Rolfes, Aug. ’22

2006 Charles Schoff, father of Megan Schoff Oldenburg, June ’22

Lorna Smith, mother of Kathryn Smith, July ’22

Dennis Strand, father of Kaitlin Strand, Nov. ’21

2012 Kristine Habben, mother of Ellen Habben Bond, June ’22

John Gustafson, father of Eleanor Gustafson Cowger, July ’22

Gregory Trost, father of Kathryn Trost Husby, June ’22

2020 Christopher Long, father of Hanna Long, July ’22

Susan Oldakowski, mother of Jill Oldakowski, Sept. ’22

3.

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Saint Benedict

1. Bennies at a bridal shower for Elizabeth Honnold ’19 in June. L to R: Shannon Shimota Hanlon ’99, Mary Agnes Traxler ’53, Stephanie Honnold ’22, Megan Deans ’19, Elizabeth Honnold ’19, Melissa Honnold ’25, Megan Albertson ’19, Teagan Anderson ’19, Jewell Budde ’19 and Amy Patton ’91.

2. The Arizona chapter of the CSB Alumnae Association gathered in Gilbert in July. L to R: Anne Poston Annis ’83, Jen Swann Louwagie ’12, Kris Rocky ’90, Becka Gross Clobes ’12, Kristina Brown ’91, Becky Kornovich King ’92 and Claire Pawlak Adachi ’83.

A new Bennie Day tradition started with a beautiful sunrise, coffee, bagels and readings on the shores over Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota. L to R: Anna Roessler Dehler ’10, Kelsie White Berg ’04, Toni Roberts ’06, Nancy Kendzora Rectenwald ’81, Hailey Rectenwald Rasmussen ’09, Jodi Carlson Grebinoski ’92, Susan Birmingham Brisbois ’92 and Sharon Kong Yung ’98.

Bennies from the Class of 2004 celebrated their 40th birthdays together in Sedona, Arizona. L to R: Anne Moller Olson, Kristen Simmons Ingle, Teresa Howa Martinez, Katie Holman Lick, Liz Bose Burgard, Ali Donovan Ross, Cory Jelinek and Billie Hughes.

5. Class of 1996 friends joined the happy hour at Malcolm Yards on Bennie Day. L to R: Mandy Majeski Millhollin, Megan McMonagle Showalter, Kate Johnson Higgins, Maren Bassett and Mara Geis Peterson.

Hill-Murray School (Maplewood, Minnesota) staff celebrated Bennie Day! L to R: Liz Lamm Marin ’89, Becky Fandrich ’14, Meghan Simmet Hermes ’13 and Olivia Rodriguez ’15.

Mackenzie Kuhl ’19 & James Gathje ’19 celebrated their wedding with a hall full of Bennies and Johnnies.

8. After studying abroad in Cannes, France, in 2002, this group met up for a 20th reunion. L to R: Quincy Smith ’03, Kevin Amdahl ’04, Anne Hodgeson (Anne went to Creighton but studied abroad with CSB and SJU), Chris Wiener ’04, Kristin Kattar Carlson ’04, Andrew Laliberte ’04, Natalie Motu Bolden ’04, Jeff Hancock ’04, Chuck Fowler ’04 and Colleen Callinan ’10.

9. Bennie Day in Woodbury, Minnesota, started early with morning coffee and pastries. Front row (L to R): Shellie Kieke ’95, Kate Lutz Nestingen ’12 and Erin Wiese Weinzettel ’11. Second row (L to R): Amber Wiese Faletti ’01, Sharon Terhaar Balcom ’69, Kara Viramontes Winter ’95, Angie Seiberlich ’90, Lara Grove Zuleger ’95, Erin Petschel ’96, Mary Ann Briguet ’67, Kenzie Claypool ’22, Rhonda Prasnicki Gaulke ’87, Lynn Kovarik Dale ’89, Emily Imm ’22 and Katie Neunsinger Walter ’00.

10. Elizabeth Gottwalt Diley ’05 and Tiffany Taylor ’05 had a surprising encounter when they met as colleagues attending a conference. Elizabeth mentioned being from Minnesota and Tiffany asked where. Before Elizabeth could answer, Tiffany said “I ask because I’m a Bennie!” Elizabeth’s eyes lit up and said “Stop, I’m a Bennie” … and the rest, you can imagine, unfolded like any Bennie meet-up does.

11. Members of the class of 1976 met at La Casita in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, to celebrate Bennie Day 2022! L to R: Beth Garin Tomlinson, Mary Underwood Kosak, Ann Beuch Cafferty, Marybeth Gaffaney Jubert, Ann Flom, Deanna Dowdle Suilmann and Sara Wormas Holter.

12. The Tegeder-Berg Society’s summer social brought together faculty, alums and students in July! Front row (L to R): Jeana Renier Tusa ’13 and Elisheva Perelman. Second row (L to R): Max Tusa ’13, Adam Schwartz ’20, Nicole Koonce ’16 and Gretchen Brown ’16. Third row (L to R): Norma Koetter, Brittany Merritt Nash, Nicholas Alonzi ’11, Jonathan Merritt Nash (and child), Gregory Schroeder, Brian Larkin ’91 and Claire Kouri ’24.

13. Bennie Day in the Twin Cities had a large gathering of Bennies at Malcolm Yards in Minneapolis, including these class of 2015 alumnae. L to R: Kelsey St. John, Emily Gebhart Hanson, Kate Kennealy and Claire Kochevar Elliott.

Your words have POWER

Give your support to help them make a CSB and SJU experience affordable while you help us fill our campuses with talented, ambitious students who can make our community stronger.

We’re counting on you to help us recruit an amazing group of new students … and, with the Alum Referral Scholarship in play, those students are counting on you, too.

Think about the students in your life, then visit csbsju.edu/refer today and get started.

The Alum Referral Scholarship is a $1,000 scholarship (renewable for four years, totaling $4,000) available to deserving prospective Bennies and Johnnies. And all it takes to qualify is your recommendation.

Turbocharging the day

If Give CSB Day is a race against time to gather as many gifts as possible toward scholarships in a single day, then all of us – as individual donors – are the engine that drives that performance. This year there were 829 givers who helped Saint Ben’s reach $486,152 in 24 hours.

But the magic that really enhances the power of that engine every year is the fact that your individual gift is matched 100%. It makes Give CSB Day a powerfully attractive time to give. And it helps inspire the excitement around which we can all rally. So if we’re all the engine, then those matching dollars are kind of a turbocharger.

“We definitely find that donors stretch a little farther on Give CSB Day,” notes Director of Annual Giving Maggie Weber Utsch ’00. “Part of that is the excitement of rallying together in a race for giving. But it’s also that folks know there are matching funds.” But where do they come from?

Matching donors are simply generous supporters giving at the O’Connell Society ($10,000+) level, who want to leverage their own gifts into prompting more gifts. “These donors aren’t asking us to shine a light on them,” clarifies Chad Marolf, senior principal gifts officer. “They’re in this because they see the impact on scholarships.”

And they’re not wrong. “It does drive more participation,” says Utsch. “When we had fewer matching dollars we raised less money. Everyone wants to know that their gifts are matched.”

A case in point and a learning experience was our first day of giving: Nov. 13, 2013. The day was promoted as “$100K in a Day,” and gift officers had arranged $50,000 in matching grants. But when the total shot past $100k at 11 in the morning, and momentum threatened to stall, eight more donors quickly came forward with an additional $56,200 in matching grants. That first day of giving ended up bringing in $240,539!

The greatest examples of that consistency are Bob (SJU ’65) and Joanne Neis. They have been matching gift donors to Give CSB Day for 10 years straight. As they explain it, “With all the institutional changes and challenges in higher education, we must enhance our support and value that we deliver to our students.”

Each year in July and August, gift officers at Saint Ben’s will start reaching out to prospective donors they feel can have an impact. “It’s a chance to get in touch with some new people each year and strengthen some relationships,” says Marolf. “Often though, there’s a lot of consistency in that group from one year to the next. Seeing the impact their gift can have in this situation tends to bring people back.”

Watch for details and join in the fun of Give CSB Day next October! If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a matching donor, contact Tara Maas ’14, senior planned and leadership giving officer, at tmaas@csbsju.edu or 320-363-5078.

With all the institutional changes and challenges in higher education, we must enhance our support and value that we deliver to our students.”