Sister Kathleen Ross, leader in higher education, to address
Saint Martin’s 2011 graduates
April 15, 2011
LACEY, WASHINGTON — Sister Kathleen A. Ross, S.N.J.M., Ph.D.,
esteemed leader in independent higher education and president
emerita of Heritage University in Toppenish, Washington, will
deliver the 2011 commencement address at Saint Martin’s
University on Saturday, May 7, at 2:00 p.m. in the Hal and Inge
Marcus Pavilion. Ross will also receive an honorary degree in
humane letters from the University.
Ross, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and
Mary, is founding president and professor of cross-cultural
communication at Heritage University. In July 2010, after 28
years’ service as president of Heritage University, Ross
retired. During her tenure, she worked closely with the
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation to champion
the success of Native American students by expanding their
access to higher education. As a result of these efforts,
Heritage is recognized nationwide as a leading institution for
providing educational excellence to underserved student
populations.
“Saint Martin’s mission speaks of the interaction of faith,
reason and service,” says Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D., president
of Saint Martin’s University. “There is no better model of these
values than Sister Kathleen, who has inspired generations of
leaders. She has dedicated her life to creating an atmosphere of
inclusivity and equity in higher education for communities who
have been historically underrepresented.”
Heritage started under the auspices of Fort Wright College
(formerly Holy Names College), where Ross served as vice
president until Fort Wright closed in 1980. Soon after, Martha
Yallup and Violet Rau — two women from the Yakama Nation —
approached Ross about forming a new four-year institution.
Working with the two women and leaders from business, religious
and education communities in the Yakima Valley, Ross founded
Heritage College in 1982. Over the course of nearly three
decades, Ross led the growth of the institution from an initial
85 students to an enrollment of 1,400 in 2010, and established
it as an accredited university.
Today, Heritage University is a national model for promoting
multiculturalism in higher education. It is recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education as an Hispanic Serving Institution,
a designation reserved for colleges and universities where
Hispanic students make up 25 percent or more of the
undergraduate enrollment. The university is located on the
Yakama Indian Reservation in central Washington state where, in
addition to Native peoples, significant populations of Mexican
immigrants have settled along with rural white and Asian
American populations to form a richly diverse agricultural
community.
Ross’s commitment to higher education has earned her much
acclaim over the years. In 1989, she received the prestigious
McGraw Prize in Education, an honor for individuals who have
dedicated themselves to improving education in the United
States. In 1995, Governor Mike Lowry and the Washington
Legislature awarded her the Washington State Medal of Merit.
Ross received a 1997 MacArthur Fellowship, and with it, a
“genius grant” of $335,000; she donated the money to Heritage
University projects. In 2010, the National Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities honored Ross with the
Henry Paley Memorial Award, which recognizes those who have
unfailingly served the students and faculty of independent
higher education.
For more than 25 years, Ross has consulted the Yakama Nation
on various projects. Considered an expert on intercultural
communication, she has written and spoken extensively on the
critical need for higher education in underserved communities.
Ross holds a doctorate in higher education management and
cross-cultural studies from Claremont Graduate University, where
her dissertation focused on “Cultural Factors in the Success and
Failure of American Indian Students in Higher Education.” She
earned a master’s degree in non-Western history from Georgetown
University, and completed graduate study on African history at
American University in Washington, D.C. Ross graduated summa
cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in history, English and
philosophy from Fort Wright College in Spokane. She holds
honorary degrees from 13 institutions including Dartmouth
College, University of Notre Dame, Seattle University and
Gonzaga University.
Says Heynderickx, “Dr. Ross’s success growing Heritage
University as a place of opportunity for every student
resonates with the Saint Martin’s community, which supports
students of all backgrounds in the pursuit of their personal,
academic and professional goals. Her message will send our
graduates into an increasingly global and multicultural world,
where the values of their Benedictine education will serve them
well.”
Saint Martin’s will confer 360 bachelor’s degrees and 81
master’s degrees at its May 7 ceremony. For more information on
this event, visit the Saint Martin’s University Commencement
website at
www.stmartin.edu/commencement2011.
Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year,
Catholic, coeducational university located on a 380-acre wooded
campus in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic
Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 18 Benedictine
colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and
the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s
University prepares students for successful lives through its 21
majors and six graduate programs spanning the liberal arts,
business, education and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes
1,250 students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its
main campus, and 650 more to its extension campuses located at
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Everett College, Centralia College and
Tacoma Community College. Visit the Saint Martin’s University
website at www.stmartin.edu.
For further information:
Jennifer Fellinger
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
360-438-4332
jfellinger@stmartin.edu
Mary Conley Law
Registrar, Saint Martin’s University
360-438-4356
marylaw@stmartin.edu