1997 Fall Saint Benedict's Today

              -------------------opening remarks ------------------�
Having fun 

R eunion weekends '96 and '97 are the magnificent bookends of my first year in Minnesota. Last year, just days before begin�ning my official duties as president, S. Colman invited me to your reunion. I arrived knowing only a handful ofyou; this year, I left with a heart full of wonderful memories, gathered from among so many of my new friends. 
Four hundred of you arrived for reunion festivities during the last weekend in June, bringing with you storehouses ofanec�dotes about your antics at Saint Ben's, pictures ofyour children and grandchildren, news about classmates that could not attend, and renewed pledges to keep in touch. Your 
enthusiasm, affection for one another and the 


which we advertise and new generations of 
students expect. 
college, and candor about your post-college 
years, including both life's inevitable suffer�
Happily, your alma mater does enjoy an 
ing as well as its joy, continue to inspire me. 
excellent academic reputation and treasures 
its Catholic and Benedictine heritage. I think
Many of you have asked me about my 
"first" year. My response is simple but true, 
one ofthe best and most essential features of 
this college is its connection to the monastic 
"It's been fun!" A previous presidency and 
many years in higher education provide me a 
community ofwomen who founded the col�
context for judging the general condition of a 
lege and whose presence is vital to the charac�
college. And what I judged to be true about 
ter ofthis place. Programs like the Benedictine 
the College of Saint Benedict has been vali�
Friends, created by S. Brian Spain to match 
students and sisters for periodic recreation, 
dated over and over again this year: We are 
not merely surviving; we are thriving. Each 
prayer and community are flourishing. Last 
year the academic profiles ofour students im�
prove, and we graduate strong, competent women who extend 
the powerful legacy of our alumnae within their families, in the 
workplace, and in graduate schools across the country. 

Throughout the year I met alumnae and Saint John's alumni on each coast, in the Southwest and throughout the Midwest. During each gathering, I was impressed by the longevity ofyour friendships and the eagerness with which you seek common cause in supporting the colleges. New students often cite an alumna as her first contact with the college; recent graduates continue to benefit from your professional network in finding that all-impor�tant first job. And current students have so many ofyou to thank for providing financial support through you contributions to scholarships and the annual fund. One litmus test of a college's health is the participation rate of alumnae giving to the annual fund. Currently we match the national average, 25 percent. My hope is to see that percentage increase because I believe more of our alumnae would find great satisfaction making a difference in her college's future. 
Your own sustaining interest in and generosity toward the college explains, in great part, why I am having fun. A college 
that is not under siege can and does prosper. Some ofyou may be surprised to learn that the College of Saint Benedict is the only Catholic women's college in the country listed among the selec�tive liberal arts colleges by the Carnegie Foundation and the An�napolis Group. The significance of this status is not lost upon potential students and their families. Ifwe are able to provide the best ofwhat you remember about Saint Ben's, we have to walk a fine line between continuing our tradition as a small residential liberal arts college manifesting its rich Catholic and Benedictine character while, at the same time, providing our students with the premiere collegiate experience about 
year 240 students wanted a sister to be her Benedictine "Friend," a tribute to these women and to the stu�dents who recognize the gift of their friendship. The Catholic identity of the college continues to be a focal point ofall that we are and do. For example, the faculty workshop that opened our academic year focused on the religious identity of our colleges, and was facilitated by William Adrian, co-editor for Models for Christian Higher Education: Strategies for Success in the Twenty�first Century. 
A splendid moment that marked this year's reunion banquet was our tribute to S. Firmin Escher who served the college as a professor and dean ofthe college for 40 years. Her prominence in cultivating the fine arts programs and in spearheading the con�struction ofthe Benedicta Arts Center inspired a new fundraising initiative aimed at continuing her legacy. You will learn more about this elsewhere in Saint Benedict's Today. In a recent interview, S. Firmin claimed, "Everything I did, I was unprepared for." She may feel that way, but this alumna of60 years merits the deepest gratitude from the College of Saint Benedict for doing every�thing so well. 
by Mary E. Lyons, CSB President