Cover Story - Winter 2024 Issue
The Founders
A reflection from today's leaders of the College's founding bodies
Most Rev. George Donnelly, D.D., and Sister Jerome Keeler, OSB, Ph.D., founded Donnelly College to fill the need for accessible, Catholic higher education in the urban core. Today, the founding organizations, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, still support the founders’ original commitment and advocacy for affordable education in Kansas City. While much has changed in the world since Donnelly’s founding in 1949, the mission of the College still rings true and provides a solid foundation as Donnelly looks ahead to serving students and the community for the next 75 years.
To celebrate and reflect on Donnelly’s history and vision, representatives of the College’s two founding organizations, Most Rev. Joseph F. Naumann, D.D., archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and Sister Mary Elizabeth Schweiger, OSB, prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, were invited to sit down on campus and share their testimonies. Archbishop Naumann and Sister Mary Elizabeth were also selected as the SHINE 2024 honorary chairs.
Q: HOW DID YOU INITIALLY BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH DONNELLY COLLEGE?
Archbishop: When I became acquainted with the story of Donnelly, of course we weren’t in this beautiful new academic building at that time; we were at the old hospital. I remember Archbishop Keleher saying to me, ‘This is one of the jewels of the archdiocese, Donnelly College.’ And we are the same age! I was born in 1949 as the College was, so I feel that kind of affinity for it as well.
Sister: I had a sister who came [to Donnelly] and graduated in 1967. She took an organic chemistry class, and she was petrified because she was the only woman in the class. She said if it hadn’t been for the dedication of the sisters and the loving care she got along the way, she probably would never have made it.
Q: HOW HAS THE COMMUNITY CHANGED OVER 75 YEARS?
Archbishop: Well, [Donnelly’s presence in Kansas City, Kansas] is the same, but the neighborhood has changed. Kansas City, Kansas, has been a place where immigrants have come to pursue the American dream. Originally, it was a lot of the Catholics coming out of World War II and European ethnic groups here. Now we have a very active and vibrant Hispanic community that’s in proximity to the College; I think it continues to serve in that way.
Sister: I really appreciate what you said, Archbishop, about diversity. I was a parish minister at Holy Name Parish in the 1970s. I really appreciated all the cultural and ethnic churches there were. So, I think that diversity early on, we discovered, was such a richness to the benefit of everyone. That inclusion from the start was always very important to Donnelly.
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and Sister Mary Elizabeth Schweiger, OSB converse in Donnelly College’s academic library.
Q: WHY IS DONNELLY’S MISSION STILL RELEVANT TODAY?
Archbishop: It changes the trajectory of families – that higher education all of a sudden becomes something that’s possible and attainable and becomes more of an expectation within families. It’s important not just because it positions people to get jobs, but because they can then contribute to their communities someday. It unlocks possibilities.
Sister: The emphasis on prayer and sacrament is very important. I think St. Benedict would be very happy that there is a place where people can pray on campus. Also, the sense of hospitality is really outstanding. You walk in and it’s like there are no strangers. You’re just welcomed for who you are. It’s just such a wonderful place to model how the world could be.
Q: WHAT DO YOU ENVISION OR HOPE FOR THE NEXT 75 YEARS?
Archbishop: I hope [Donnelly] continues the great tradition of what it’s been built on; being a place where everybody, no matter what their financial capabilities are, has that opportunity to develop the talents that the Lord has entrusted to them. Our society’s changed a lot since 1949, but the mission here has continued to remain as important as it was 75 years ago. I think there is always going to be a need for a place like Donnelly.
Sister: My vision is that Donnelly continues for at least another 75 years. It’s got the mission that is just so critical in our world today because it’s based on the Gospel. It’s a place that is wonderful, faith-filled and where you can become the best person you would like to be. This is a place of miracles, where dreams can happen. Archbishop: Well said, Sister. I can’t top that. We believe in a God of miracles and there are miracles that are happening here every day at Donnelly College. 
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