THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 46, NO. 6 | SEPTEMBER 20, 2024
Donnelly celebrates 75 years of student-first education
PHOTO COURTESY OF DONNELLY COLLEGE
Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas, opened on Sept. 12, 1949, cofounded by the then-Diocese of Kansas City in Kansas and the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison. The purpose of Donnelly has always been to provide affordable education to the urban core.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DONNELLY COLLEGE
Donnelly College students in the 1950s use the college’s science lab. Donnelly is now celebrating 75 years of serving the community of Kansas City, Kansas, and beyond. By Lindsey Weishar, Michaela Remijio and Laura McKnight Special to The Leaven
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ANSAS CITY, Kan. — On Sept. 12, 1949, Donnelly College here officially opened its doors. Cofounded by the then-Diocese of Kansas City in Kansas and the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Donnelly is now celebrating 75 years of serving the community of Kansas City, Kansas, and beyond. As an article in the Eastern Kansas Register (The Leaven’s predecessor)
said in its July 8, 1949, issue, the purpose of Donnelly College has always been “to make it possible for the youth of Kansas City and its vicinity to obtain a Catholic college education without needless expense.” This vision continues today. Part of the college’s mission of “making the love of God tangible in our world” includes beginning the year in prayer and service to others.
Oriented toward service, prayer In keeping with the college’s values of truth, community and excellence and
the Benedictine charisms of stability and hospitality, staff and faculty welcome students by pairing orientation with community service. This year, students participated in a two-day orientation, the second of which was dedicated to community service with local organizations. Over the years, students have participated in activities like neighborhood cleanups, creating hygiene kits and sorting food pantry items. These activities make it possible for the students to together practice the corporal works of mercy, a vital component of the holistic education Donnelly offers. Donnelly also begins each fall semester with a convocation, an allschool Mass of the Holy Spirit celebrated by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann at
the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Kansas City, Kansas. “We do not merely educate students,” said Dr. Matthew Vander Vennet, Donnelly’s director of mission. “We help to form them as human beings throughout our disciplines. Inviting our students to wonder at the created order and ponder their place in it opens them up to an experience of the divine and a contemplation of the Creator.”
New and expanding programs Donnelly is now enrolling students >> See “ADVANCED” on page 16