Avenues Fall 2024
Avenues, the Saint Mary's College magazine, is where you are able to go deeper into the stories that make up our community. For this issue, we've brought you a story on a subject that is symbolic of fall—the college football marching band. For decades, Saint Mary's women have played a pivotal role in the Fighting Irish Marching Band. In this article, you'll learn a bit of backstory, and meet some seriously talented women. We're also featuring a faculty member, Ian Weaver, who is shaking the art world with his ongoing project featuring his fictional group, the Black Knights. There's a lot more inside, so take a peek. We've even included a flip book, if you want to see it in magazine form! Enjoy.
Feature Articles
Exploring Loss, Memory, and Constructed Narratives
Ian Weaver, an associate professor of art at Saint Mary’s College, is a nationally exhibited artist whose work has appeared at venues like the Saint Louis Art Museum, The Chicago Cultural Center, and Fort Worth Contemporary Arts. Weaver’s numerous residencies include the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Ox-Bow, and the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York. Among his many accolades are the DeHaan Artists of Distinction Award and the Stone and DeGuire Contemporary Art Award. In this reflection, Weaver discusses his latest project, an installation set for display at the Chicago Athletic Association in 2026.
Philanthropy Drives Excellence Through Saint Mary’s Endowed Chairs
Endowed chairs are a measure of prestige and achievement in academia. For a college the size of Saint Mary’s, to have six is quite noteworthy. Established and maintained through significant philanthropic gifts, an endowed professorship is an academic position that is considered one of the highest honors a faculty member can receive. At Saint Mary’s, endowed chair positions recognize and support faculty members whose teaching excellence and commitment to students exemplify education at its best. The endowment of a position helps to underwrite the annual salary and benefits of the chairholder, fund scholarly research, support special programs, and provide unique opportunities for students.
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In the Spotlight: Kristin Kuter November 20, 2024 Kristin Kuter is an associate professor in the Department of Math and Computer Science and on faculty in the Master of Science in Data Science program. She recently began a new role this year as the director for the Dual Degree in Engineering Program. Professor Kuter came to Saint Mary’s in 2009, and recently completed a Fulbright Fellowship in Zimbabwe. She is humble, pushes her students to succeed, and hopes to travel more.
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Decades of Dedication November 20, 2024 Nearly every evening of every fall, as the sun begins to set, more than five dozen Saint Mary’s students make their way to a practice field across the road. They arrive with clarinets, tubas, and piccolos; saxophones, cymbals, and trumpets. They’re part of the Notre Dame Band of the Fighting Irish, and for 54 years, their involvement has played a crucial role in the organization’s success.
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Compassion in Crisis November 20, 2024 In 2022, Mary Jo Dunne entered this world under circumstances no parent dreams of. At just 26 weeks pregnant, Mary Jo’s mom, Katie Boyce Dunne ’05, was admitted to Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital after her water broke. Katie found herself in a hospital room, filled with uncertainty. “I thought I would have to deliver right away,” she recalled, “but the doctors assured me that every day I could keep her in the womb was a victory.”