October 22, 2025
Language and Literacy Lab Opens in Havican Hall
In September, Saint Mary's College dedicated the Language and Literacy Lab in Havican Hall, made possible by a generous donation from alumna Susan Scherer Calandra '72. The goal of the lab, according to Susan Olney Latham '91, associate professor of speech-language pathology, is to give children chances to interact with and learn from literature. The lab includes five instructional areas designed to engage children through reading, dramatic play, story time, writing, and art. “I can’t think of a better place than Saint Mary’s for this language and literacy lab to be born. Saint Mary’s excels at creating environments that nurture discovery," said Calandra.
October 20, 2025
Pivot and Persevere—Laura Early '15
When Laura Early ’15, lower right, returned to Saint Mary’s for her 10-year college reunion in May, she said the experience felt like coming home. During her years at the College, Early was a strong student and president of the Sisters of Nefertiti, now known as the Black Student Association. She overcame much adversity during her college days, earning her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Business. She’s the founder and CEO of Heart of Gold Senior Group Home in Maricopa, Arizona.
October 2, 2025
A Heart for Giving Back: A Journey from Student to Scholarship Benefac...
Denise Donofrio ’73 graduated from Saint Mary's with a business degree, a solid work ethic, and a desire to help others whenever possible. Decades later, she has established a scholarship to help young women earn a degree and maybe some day, continue the tradition of leadership and philanthropy.
September 30, 2025
Creating Community
In her monthly letter, President Conboy encourages us to use this moment in time to encounter each other more fully, to listen more generously, and to disagree without contempt. In doing so, she writes, we will model something urgently needed in our polarized world: a way of living together that is about seeking truth and building a common life that serves the common good.
September 9, 2025
Rosary Rally Unites Community in Prayer
On Sunday, September 7 from 1:30-3:30 a Holy Cross prayer event took place at Bond Quad on the University of Notre Dame campus. The event was the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of a rosary event held at ND in 1950 in which 20,000 people gathered in Notre Dame stadium. Sunday’s event was held to promote family prayer, especially the Rosary.
September 9, 2025
Guided by Faith: Student Leaders Bring Pastoral Care to Campus Life
For more than 10 years, the ministry assistant (MA) program has been offered at Saint Mary’s. Students are trained to serve their fellow students, acting as leaders of faith and role models, on and off campus. Saint Mary’s College has six MAs leading weekly faith formation nights and small groups, prayer experiences, retreats, offer hospitality to students, and connect them to opportunities in the Center for Faith, Action, and Ministry (CFAM).
September 9, 2025
Best-Selling Author Julia Alvarez to Deliver Fall Humanities Lecture
Best-selling author Julia Alvarez will deliver the Francis A. McAnaney Humanities Lecture on Thursday, September 25 in the Moreau Center for the Arts O’Laughlin Auditorium at Saint Mary’s College. Her novels How the García Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies give voice to those often left out of literature. Alvarez’s experience—with one foot in the world she left behind in the Dominican Republic and the other in a country that was often unaccepting, even hostile, to newcomers— became the rich soil in which her stories took root. “What I learned through story is that we're all the same. The same pains, the same joys that touch base in a human heart that is universal in all of us,” Alvarez said.
September 6, 2025
Isabelle Auch ’26 Named Saint Catherine Medal Recipient
Each year Saint Mary’s College awards the Saint Catherine Medal to a rising junior or senior who has demonstrated high standards of personal excellence and scholarship and has contributed to the College community. On August 20, President Katie Conboy announced senior Isabelle Auch ’26 is this year’s Saint Catherine Medal recipient.
August 29, 2025
Learning How to Live
As a new academic year begins, President Conboy brings forth several ideas by Michel de Montaigne, a thought leader from the 16th century. In her monthly letter, Conboy explores the act, in Montaigne's words, 'of learning how to live'.