Alverno College Awarded $2.7 Million Hilton Foundation Grant to Honor Catholic Sisters
October 19, 2016
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has awarded Alverno College a $2.7 million grant to
raise awareness of the legacy and current contributions of Catholic women religious
and to expand upon National Catholic Sisters Week, launched in 2013 through a previous
Hilton Foundation grant. Led by Andrea Lee, IHM, president of Alverno College, the
Hilton Sisters' Project will extend its geographic reach, placing new emphasis on
young women in Latino communities. Lee secured the original project grant and managed
the project from 2013 through 2016 while she was president of St. Catherine University
in St. Paul, Minn. Because of her leadership and business acumen, the grant will be
housed at Alverno College to remain under her leadership. Because oversight of the
expanded project will remain with Lee, Alverno will maintain overall fiscal responsibility,
oversee project expenditures, coordinate project site initiatives and ensure financial
and project outcome accountability to the Hilton Foundation. Sister Ann Oestreich,
justice coordinator for the Sisters of the Holy Cross for nearly 20 years and currently
a national leader in the efforts of Catholic sisters to end human trafficking, will
oversee project operations and coordinate efforts across project sites in Minnesota,
Texas, California and Wisconsin. “Religious life is a gift to our world, and as women
religious, we are delighted to share it,” said Sister Carol Rigali, provincial of
the School Sisters of St. Francis United States Province Leadership Team. “Alverno
College is an ideal location to further the relationships between women religious
across the United States and women in Catholic colleges and universities.This Hilton-funded
outreach focuses on the future, as we continue to share the profound impact of women
religious, past and present, on our church and society.This also is an opportunity
for touching hearts and minds with the stories and contributions of Catholic sisters.”
Alverno College will coordinate and administer the funds supporting four national
initiatives to:
Expand the reach of National Catholic Sisters Week and its web-based resource, SisterStory,
which will continue to be based at St. Catherine University in St. Paul;
Place new emphasis on young women in Latino communities, particularly in Texas and
California, which will be based at Mt. Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles;
Engage approximately 10 dioceses around the country to design technology and social
media-supported programs to attract and engage young adults; and
Develop web-based curricula and materials for teachers in K-12 Catholic schools and
religious education programs, which will be based at the University of the Incarnate
Word in San Antonio, Texas.
“I am delighted that Alverno will be the home for this grant, given the possibilities
for making visible to a larger audience the service of women religious in meeting
human needs through education, health care, social work and pastoral care,” said Sister
Mary Diez, president of the School Sisters of St. Francis and a former faculty leader
at Alverno College. About the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation TheConrad N. Hilton Foundationwas created in 1944 by international business pioneer Conrad N. Hilton, who founded
Hilton Hotels and left his fortune to help the world's disadvantaged and vulnerable
people. The Foundation currently conducts strategic initiatives in six priority areas:
providing safe water, ending chronic homelessness, preventing substance abuse, helping
children affected by HIV and AIDS, supporting transition-age youth in foster care
and extending Conrad Hilton's support for the work of Catholic Sisters. Following
selection by an independent international jury, the Foundation annually awards the
$1.5 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to a nonprofit organization doing
extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. From its inception, the Foundation has
awarded more than $1 billion in grants, distributing $83 million in the U.S. and around
the world in 2012. The Foundation's current assets exceed $2.2 billion.
Published on October 19, 2016 | Categories: Newsroom migrated press release