Message from the Office of the President: March 25 update

Dear Colleagues,

Happy Friday everyone, as we enter the last week of March and look forward to April showers (hopefully not snow showers) and the hope of the Easter season ahead! We have much to be thankful for as COVID conditions continue to improve – a renewed sense of optimism is being felt across our College. And it feels really good to have more time to imagine and plan our future forward, rather than have to focus on crisis management. We hope these trends continue, and we find opportunities to re-engage and continue to build up the Benedictine community we love and cherish.

Give to CSS Day success

Give to CSS Day was yesterday and it was a great success! Preliminary results have over 400 donors participating, supporting 15 initiatives and raising nearly $110,000! Thank you to everyone who has participated, if you haven’t had a chance yet, it isn’t too late, go to css.edu/givetocssday. A few highlights of the day were unlocking a $25,000 gift when we hit 300 donors and an anonymous donor who stepped forward to give $10,000 in honor of five influential Sisters (Sister Ann Edwards, Sister Mary, Sister Mary Bill, Sister Rose, Sister Emilene). In doing so, they unlocked an extra 12 hours of giving.

Congratulations to Director of Advancement Reba Copeland and the entire College Advancement team for their tremendous efforts!

Educated Here, Employed Here

The College of St. Scholastica is blessed with over 30,000 alumni, 295 of whom work right here at CSS. We want you to know how much we appreciate all you do to enrich our College community. Stop by the Union on Monday, March 27 and the Commons on Tuesday, March 28 between 8 – 10 a.m. to pick up your CSS pennant that reads “Educated Here, Employed Here.”

If you work remotely or at an extended site, email alumni@css.edu and we will send you one.

Put it in your office, take a selfie and send it to alumni@css.edu for us to post on our Alumni Facebook page.

Alums really DO make it happen!

Saints in San Diego

This week, we had eight chemistry and biochemistry students and five faculty travel to San Diego to present their research at the National Conference of the American Chemical Society, March 19-24. In attendance were:

Students: Heather Couture, Natalie Eidenschink, Katie East, Riggs Olson, Sara Parent, Jack Perala, Megan Schiferl, and Alex Sogn. An additional student, (Ethan Wiita presented his research via the virtual session!)
Faculty: Surya Banks, Heather Brown, Bret Johnson, Pablo Palafox and Aileen Beard

Our students did an excellent job and we are so proud of their research accomplishments! Pictures from the event can be found here.

Teach-In for Climate and Justice inaugural event

The St. Scholastica community is invited to participate in the institution’s first annual Teach-In for Climate and Justice, taking place Tuesday, March 29 through Friday, April 1. Learn and discuss the interconnections between climate and justice through daily panel discussions led by CSS faculty and staff and attending Michael Waasegizhig Price’s keynote talk Aanji-kamigaa – Changing Earth: Anishinaabe Insights on Adapting with Climate Change on Thursday, 7pm in the Mitchell Auditorium or via Zoom. Visit https://tinyurl.com/cssclimateandjustice for more information.

From the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer

As a friendly reminder, on March 29, we will be offering How to be an Active Ally workshop from 3-4:30 p.m. Please use this link to sign up. This workshop is limited to 20 people.

Feast of St. Benedict Retreat Materials Available

Didn’t have a chance to register for this year’s online retreat on the value of the year, Love of Learning? No worries! By registering here, you can still gain access to the valuable retreat materials. May we find grounding in “slowing down, staying put, listening well, and allowing ourselves to be changed by God.”

Have a wonderful and safe weekend ahead, I hope you find time to enjoy your friends and loved ones!

With gratitude,

Barbara