University Receives Half Million Dollar Gift
Ohio Dominican University recently announced that it will open a center dedicated to
preserving and enhancing the 91-year-old Catholic university's Dominican heritage and
character through a $500,000 gift from the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs.
The Center for Dominican Studies at Ohio Dominican University will open in the fall of
2003 and will be dedicated to continuing the rich spiritual and intellectual legacy of the
university's founding order, whose motto, "To contemplate truth and share the fruits of
this contemplation," continues to be the guiding principle at the Northeast Side
university.
"The Center for Dominican Studies will focus
its powers on keeping the legacy of the Dominicans at the forefront of the university's
development, renewing and expanding the commitment to a Dominican and Catholic identity
through thought and action," said Ohio Dominican President Dr. Jack Calareso.
The $500,000 gift from the Dominican Sisters will serve as important seed money,
starting a foundation upon which future gifts will build.
Among the center's priorities:
- Lectures and symposia on Dominican values and history
- Partnerships with other Dominican centers and universities
Community service.
- New university courses and curriculum to focus on Dominican history and values.
- Retreats, study days, and sabbaticals for students and faculty.
- Research into the presence and influence of Dominicanism in higher education.
The center is part of an ambitious strategic plan announced this spring for Ohio
Dominican to become one of the nation's preeminent Catholic institutions. Under the plan,
Ohio Dominican became a university on July 1.
The bequest is one of the largest gifts in the school's history and the first major
gift for Ohio Dominican since becoming a university under the leadership of Dr. Calareso,
who was inaugurated as president in December. The strategic plan calls for increased
enrollment, expansions and improvements in academic programs, expanded and renovated
physical facilities, and a renewed focus on the institution's Catholic Dominican heritage.
The Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs were founded in Somerset, Ohio, in
1830 and moved to Columbus in 1868. In 1911, the sisters received a charter from the
State of Ohio to establish a women's college. A successful teaching congregation for
almost 100 years, the Dominicans wanted to build on the excellence of their academy
and provide college classes in an area where there was no Catholic higher education
available to their graduates and to the candidates for the order. After a decade of
experimenting, the Sisters opened St. Mary of the Springs College in 1924 as a
Catholic four-year liberal arts college for women. Their motivation was the conviction
that truth is one, that truths in the various academic disciplines cannot be
contradictory, and that truth leads to the God who said, "I am the Truth."
The Dominican Order (or Order of Preachers) was founded in 1216 by St. Dominic Guzman
(1170-1221), a Spaniard whose legendary gift for preaching and conversion built the
small medieval order into one of the most influential Catholic organizations in the
world. Today, the order is known for its consummate dedication to teaching, learning,
and service. Dominican sisters, friars and priests operate schools, colleges, and
universities around the world as well as engaging in various forms of philanthropic
service.
