Founders' Dinner 2009: A celebration of service
Kicking off the eighth annual Founders' Dinner in June was an old-fashioned nun wearing a full-length habit who kindly, but sternly, ordered the nearly 900 guests to take their seats.
"You in the red shawl there. Yes, you. Sit down. Now, please," instructed award-winning actress Maripat Donovan dressed as "Sister"--the role she created for her one-woman comedy Late Nite Catechism. Donovan was back on campus to receive an honorary Bachelor of Fine and Performing Arts degree as part of the evening's festivities.
Prior to dinner, 10 Damen Award recipients were feted in the newly christened Donovan Reading Room in Cudahy Library. Janet W. Sisler (BA '74, MA '82) was also honored with the Coffey Award for her leadership in the community and service to others. Guests then had a chance to mingle with the awardees during the cocktail hour at the Klarchek Information Commons before entering the beautifully decorated Gentile Center.
"It was as if I was lost in a dark hallway and someone opened a door and said, 'Come in here. This is where you belong.' That was the theater department at Loyola and it became my life."
Sister Jean Delores Schmidt, who has been a fixture of the Loyola community since arriving on campus in 1961, received the Dux Mirabilis Award from President Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., for her extraordinary leadership. As the Ramblers' team chaplain and No. 1 fan, she remains an inspiration as she cheers the men's basketball team at home games and helps players balance academics with their commitment to athletics.
As part of the evening, several students were invited to speak about the transformative effect scholarship has had on their lives. Medical student Eli Horn, who is receiving a four-year Anthony Barbato Scholarship, said that upon graduation he plans to use his medical education to help the underserved populations of the world. Second-year law student Frances Mendieta also spoke. She received the Jenner & Block Minority Scholarship and thanked the audience on behalf of all scholarship students for their support. More than $4.4 million has been raised in the last school year for scholarship support.
A first for Founders' Dinner was the awarding of an honorary degree. In full regalia, Father Garanzini, theater professor Jonathan Wilson, and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Frank Fennell awarded the degree to Maripat Donovan, who tossed her mortar board into the air and gave a speech that was funny, touching, and apropos.
"I can't believe that this is happening to me," she began. "I was not a good student. I got bad grades. I hated school. It was as if I was lost in a dark hallway and someone opened a door and said, 'Come in here. This is where you belong.' That was the theater department at Loyola and it became my life."
Donovan went on to say, "My sister helped me find a quote from someone who also received a degree later in life--the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz."
“The Wizard told the Scarecrow, 'Back where I come from we have universities, seats of great learning--where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts--and with no more brains than you have… But! They have one thing you haven't got! A diploma!'"
"And so I thank you now by quoting the Scarecrow, 'Oh joy, rapture! I have a brain! How can I ever thank you enough?'"
Damen Award recipients 2009
- School of Social Work: Dr. Joseph A. Walsh (BA '67, MSW '69)
- Institute of Pastoral Studies: Rich F. Clark (MRE '78)
- Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing: Dr. Judith Kosloskus Scully (BSN '62)
- Stritch School of Medicine: Dr. James R. Baker (MD '78)
- The Graduate School: Rev. Brian G. Paulson, S.J. (MA '85)
- School of Law: Dr. Randy Lamm Berlin (JD '91)
- School of Education: Dr. Blondean Y. Davis (BA '70, MEd ’75, EdD '85)
- School of Continuing & Professional Studies: Christopher G. Atchison (BA '71)
- School of Business Administration: John E. “Jack” Rooney (MBA '69)
- College of Arts & Sciences: Ronald A. Grzywinski (A&S '58)
