Communications from the President

Back to the Future In this letter to the Saint Mary's community, President Katie Conboy admits to having continued "back to the future" moments. Plans for Commencement and Reunion President Katie Conboy updates the Saint Mary's community on the College's plans for Commencement and the two Reunion weekends planned for this summer. Leaning Out and Listening On January 24, 2021, President Katie Conboy offered the following liturgical reflection at the Church of Our Lady of Loretto. Skates and Snowshoes? Yes and YES! When students arrive on campus, they're going to see some pretty "cool" additions. President Katie Conboy announced a skating rink is coming to Saint Mary's campus! Looking Back and Looking Forward In a letter to the Saint Mary's community on January 15, 2021, President Katie Conboy announces the approval of the new strategic plan for the college. She touches on the spirit of "Looking Back and Looking Forward". A Call to Civil Discourse At Saint Mary’s, where we dedicate ourselves to the core values of learning, community, faith/spirituality, and justice, we have a special opportunity to become the kinds of citizens who will serve and protect our democracy and who will not be bystanders. The Season of Waiting I’m sure that, like my husband and I, many of you celebrated an unusual Thanksgiving. But we are grateful for our health and for the safety of family and friends, even if we missed their presence around the table. Now we have all moved quickly from the season of gratitude to Advent, the season of waiting. Equity and Inclusion on our Campus President Katie Conboy addresses Equity and Inclusion on our campus in a letter to the Saint Mary's Community on November 18, 2020 Building The Future to Scale Back in June, I mentioned that I would be living on campus in Riedinger House for my first several months at the College. I was amused that whenever I told someone this, they asked, “How does it feel to be in that miniature house?” And I had to admit: I hadn’t really noticed. Upon Reflection Dr. Katie Conboy shares her thoughts about her first few months at president of Saint Mary's College. At Home with President Conboy...Our Mom We asked the daughters of Dr. Katie Conboy to introduce you to our new president and their mother. Count Your Blessings Dear Saint Mary’s Friends, There’s a serious moment in the 1991 comedy Hear My Song when Ned Beatty — who plays the real-life Irish tenor Josef Locke — sings one of Locke’s classic songs, “Count Your Blessings.” It is a favorite movie moment for me, and I began playing Locke’s recording of the tune right after the prayer at our family’s Thanksgiving meal each year. It became a tradition. I know we haven’t even reached Halloween yet, much less Thanksgiving, but I find myself humming “Count Your Blessings” quite a lot these days. Spring Semester 2021 Plans Saint Mary's celebrates our seventh week on campus and announces plans for the spring semester. Expecting the Unexpected Dear Saint Mary’s Friends, We often talk with students about becoming life-long learners, and this year the entire faculty and staff at Saint Mary’s have had to lead by example, demonstrating the many ways that we, too, can remain open, flexible, determined, and creative in our work. A Letter from the President In a letter to the students of Saint Mary's College, President Katie Conboy urges students to stay on campus. "Let me be clear. Our precious time together on campus is at risk," she writes. "Right now, while we have only three positive cases among the Saint Mary’s College community, we are growing concerned. The trends on other campuses — high infection numbers that are largely due to off-campus activities — are undermining our own campus precautions. We are alarmed by what we are seeing, and it has us on high alert."