A reasonable response to decision

MARGUERITE F. HESSIAN-GATZ '49, PROFESSOR EMERITA OF NURSING

I believe it is timely and appropriate for the College of St. Catherine to be named St. Catherine University. St. Catherine is expanding in programs and degrees offered, and that alone tells me that a different administrative structure is called for.

I was fortunate after graduation from St. Catherine to return later as a faculty member and then a department chair. The challenge of teaching and advising at a high level of excellence was an exciting adventure, always with an element of change as the years progressed.

As a college, we grappled with many issues over the years. Some years ago one of those issues was whether the College of St. Catherine should become coeducational. This was at a vulnerable time, when colleges were strenuously competing for students. We could well have succumbed to the pressures of the moment, but we didn't. It is with the same discernment that I believe the College has examined the present invitation and need to change.

St. Catherine has never veered from its commitment to the values of the Catholic, liberal arts tradition. These values will only continue to flourish as St. Catherine grows and adapts responsibly to the realities of today and tomorrow.