O’Connell Addresses American Bishops in Baltimore, MD

University President Rev. David M. O’Connell discussed the University’s finances, campus development and the papal visit during an address to United States Catholic Bishops at their annual meeting on November 10 in Baltimore, his first appearance before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops since 2001.
The annual national collection raised nearly $6 million, which funds financial aid and scholarships, and serves as a promotional tool for the University, he said in a Catholic News Service article.

“This past year [was] the best fundraising year in history,” said O’Connell.

The current financial crisis has hurt the University endowment, according to O’Connell. He said the endowment dropped in October from $227 million to $144 million before reaching its current total of $157 million. The University’s endowment was $38 million when O’Connell first arrived at the University in 1998. University investments shrank by $83 million, O’Connell said.

“The University is carefully monitoring this situation as well as our fundraising efforts and is taking steps necessary to face the coming year prudently, with an eye to the future,” O’Connell said in the article.

O’Connell also mentioned the opening of a new residence hall, Opus Hall in January, which will help with the University’s increasing enrollment, as well as plans to open a residence for student priests, which will accommodate 30 students this summer. He also discussed plans for a vocations discernment program.

O’Connell said 80 men and 30 women have entered a religious vocation during his tenure at the University.
O’Connell said Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the University was the highlight of his presidency.

“The Holy Father’s speech was extraordinary, as you know, but we felt a special pride in the fact that Pope Benedict chose Catholic University as his pulpit to address the church in our country on the topic of Catholic education,” said O’Connell in the article.

He said the pope’s visit was a reminder of the University’s role in the Church and academic community.

“I believe the University has moved far beyond the fits and starts of long ago in so many ways into an era of solid, forward momentum that places the national university of the Catholic Church in our country on the right trajectory and the path where it truly belongs,” said O’Connell. “The task is far from finished but those who will lead the University in the years ahead will stand on solid ground.”

Priests, Presidents & Parties - Party Heads Faced-off at CUA

In 2004, Chairs of DNC, RNC Were Both Univ. Alum

Against the odds, it happened once, and it is not likely to happen again - the heads of the two biggest parties in the country were both Catholic University Alumni. Terry McAuliffe, B.A. 1979, and Ed Gillespie, B.A. 1983, faced off in a political debate in 2004 in the Edward J. Pryzbyla Center, as they were both chairmen of the Democratic and Republican parties (respectively) at the time of the debate.

Over 800 students, faculty and alumni gathered to watch the well known alumni battle it out in the Pryzbyla Center Great Room. The former politics majors discussed the fundamental issues at stake during the 2004 presidential election between current President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). The debate was also televised by C-SPAN.

The debate began with informal banter about the closing of The Ratt (former Rathskellar, popular student bar formerly located in Cardinal Hall), as well as which debater graduated with the highest honors.

Gillespie, an Irish American from outside Philly, discovered the University in high school when a teacher noticed his accomplishments in their school paper and suggested he attended a well-known university in DC. During his time at CUA, he served as sports editor for The Tower and played for the rugby team as well as intramural basketball.

McAuliffe had been involved with the Democratic party from a young age, since his father was the treasurer for the Onondaga County Democratic Party. He was a resident advisor and vice president of the Judicial Branch of the student government while he attended the University.

The debate concluded with both debaters asking students to vote in what would be one of the most important campaigns in American history.

Trustees Focus on Evaluation, Fiscal Issues

Restoring facilities and suppressing underage drinking were major objectives discussed by the Board of Trustees this week. They met at the University to self-assess their performance and discuss critical issues affecting the campus community, said trustees in an exclusive interview with the Tower.

“In a position of authority, it is important to sit back and assess your own ways of working and thinking about where the University has to go and our role in bringing it forward,” said Sister Margaret Fitzpatrick, trustee and president of St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkhill, New York.

She is also a commissioner on the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The University recently initiated a period of self-evaluation in preparation of its ten-year accreditation review. The board hopes that this comprehensive pre-assessment will bolster the University’s final results.

Making sure that the University is successfully pursuing its mission will be a priority for the commission, according to Cardinal Seán O’Malley, another trustee.

The official mission statement says that the University is “committed to being a comprehensive Catholic and American institution of higher learning, faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ.”

“With the past ten years under [Rev. David M. O’Connell], the Catholic mission has been sharpened considerably,” said O’Malley. “Beyond that, with the increase in enrollment and new buildings, I think the last ten years have been a very impressive time in the history of the University.”

Additionally, the board is very pleased that new students enrolling in the University have higher SAT scores and grades than in the past.

“The last ten years have been the golden age,” said O’Malley. “I would be shocked if we did not get a wonderful assessment from Middle States.”

Trustees stressed that they have become increasingly alarmed about underage students drinking alcohol.

O’Connell, president of the University, wrote a letter to undergraduate students last week saying he has “become slightly alarmed…at the number of incidences of underage alcohol consumption.”

Several trustees expressed concerns regarding the lack of weekly recurrent activities and student programs on nights that typically promote underage drinking.

They were upset about the lack of regular programming in the student center. Other local universities have utilized the construction of bowling allies, billiard rooms, small cinemas and other amenities to provide options for students Thursday through Sunday. The only amenity for students available during late night hours at the University is dining in the student restaurant.

“We hope that the development on the South Campus is going to help give a focus on social life,” said O’Malley.

The trustees expressed confidence in the leadership of O’Connell and said that he, along with the entire administration, will steer students on the right path with that issue.

“A board is just as good as its president,” said Ray Hillenbrand, a trustee. He added that many of his colleagues are on the board solely because of O’Connell.

“He has made a difference in the direction and focus of this University,” said Andrea Roane, a trustee and news anchor for the local CBS affiliate. Her first year as a trustee was in 1998, the year O’Connell was chosen to be president, an ex officio position on the board itself.

While rumors have surrounded O’Connell for the past few years regarding a possible promotion within the Church, O’Malley said trustees have discussed the topic in meetings and a succession plan exists. He noted that although ten years in a position may seem like a long time, it is not unusual for a university president to serve much longer than that.

The trustees stated that in addition to O’Connell, they believe the entire board is on track and the University has bright days ahead.

“The greatest accomplishment I’ve seen is the passion this board has for the University,” said O’Malley. “They really want the University to be everything it can and should be.”