It's official! St. Kate's to be renamed St. Catherine University next June

As soon as her words resonated in the auditorium, Sister Andrea watched the audience of faculty, students and staff erupt in cheers and applause as the boogie-woogie notes of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin On” swelled.

Then everyone danced as the President’s dance troupe came back on stage for the finale of Opening Celebration, which officially opened the new academic year.

The College's Board of Trustees voted unanimously for the new name at a meeting August 28, after considering four other options: St. Catherine's University, the University of Saint Catherine, Saint Catherine of Alexandria University and the University of Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

Lee proclaimed the Board's choice to be "simple, elegant and direct."

"As we become a university, we become something new, and still we cherish the best of what we have been," she said. "We must and will remain fiercely loyal to our mission as an undergraduate college for women, while placing a firm stake in the ground to position our graduate, associate and continuing education programs more intentionally and visibly for men, as well as for women."

A months-long process
In May, the College’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the College and directed Lee and her Cabinet to recommend the institution's new name for the Board's vote in late August.

The Board determined that "St. Catherine" — the core of the institution — would be part of any name.

Throughout the summer, options were presented to internal constituencies for discussion and deliberation. Groups taking part in the process represented the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the College’s founders; St. Kate's staff and faculty; alumnae; and the marketing committee of the Board.

"We asked a lot of people what they thought," Lee said. "These were lighthearted processes as we solicited and weighed input. People were interested but hardly anyone seemed ready to fall on a sword. We looked for a compelling rationale and a sense of rightness. A fit. This would be an important decision but not a highly controversial one. Our beloved St. Catherine would be in there, no matter what."

Evaluating whether to become a university was part of the work of implementing the strategic plan approved by the Board in 2005. The decision-making process about whether to become a university began in August 2007, when President Lee created a 17-member task team charged with researching the issue.

Co-Chaired by Vice President for External Relations Marjorie Mathison Hance '70 and Special Assistant to the President for Special Initiatives Julie Belle White-Newman, the task team conducted extensive research and concluded that changing the College's name to university would strategically advance the institution by:

• More accurately reflecting the comprehensive and complex nature of St. Catherine's.
• Enhancing student recruitment internationally.
• Promoting increased emphasis on graduate and digital learning.
• Providing a vehicle to develop strategic partnerships.

At the same time, College leaders conducted an equally in-depth examination of the institution's curricular structure and developed a new Master Academic Plan (MAP). Led by Senior Vice President Colleen Hegranes, the academic deans and members of the faculty will implement this curricular realignment over the next several years.

The Master Academic Plan outlines a vision that restructures the university into three colleges and four schools (including the recently launched School of Health) with the aim to:

• Articulate a vision for St. Catherine's as an integrated institution that reflects our mission.
• Distinguish each of St. Catherine's disciplinary entities.
• Create greater visibility for the institution's core communities, particularly the undergraduate women's college.

"The vision behind the Master Academic Plan and becoming a university situates us to have a stronger position in a marketplace that is becoming more competitive," said Brian Bruess, vice president for enrollment management.

Although the College of St. Catherine 10-day report will not be official until Tuesday, Sept. 16, Bruess said the College is on track to hold its place as the largest, most comprehensive college for women in North America.

"The decision to become a university was a correct and timely one. It was a decision to call ourselves what we already are. It was a decision that caused us to think and to seek clarity about our identity and our intent," said President Lee.

"It was hard work because we are determined, and remain determined, to maintain our vibrant, energetic, smart and forward-thinking college for women at the very center of the university enterprise. Our college for women is our heart, our core, our center, our reason for being. Still we have come to a new moment. Possibilities do abound."

Bruess said "university" more accurately describes St. Kate's and added that 1979 was the last year the College offered only baccalaureate degrees for women. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has classified St. Kate's as a comprehensive, large master’s institution for the past 15 years.

In addition, research by the University-College Task Team showed that "university" has a more powerful perception internationally. Many countries consider "college" another designation for high school, so becoming a university also more accurately positions St. Catherine University abroad.

College leaders underscore that the College's mission remains Catholic, women and liberal arts -- in short, that the new university still will be St. Kate's. "Some students feared we'd become cold and impersonal," said Mathison Hance. "And that couldn't be farther from the truth. We're going to do university our way."

Added Senior Vice President Hegranes: "We're not giving up the core of who we are. This is a place that values women, that believes education is the way to help women and men make a difference in the world. That's not going to change."

Read more in The Catholic Spirit.
Visit the Becoming a University web pages