November 3, 2015

By Mary Alice Maloney

Every year, the Dominican community comes together for the Founder’s Day Dinner, which honors and celebrates the life of Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, O.P. Father Mazzuchelli was the founder of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa and a prominent member of the Dominican Order of Preachers, which is celebrating its’ 800th Anniversary this year.

An integral component of the event is the Mazzuchelli Lecture. This year, President Donna Carroll will be giving the lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 4:30 p.m. in the Rosary Chapel. Her lecture “So Proudly Dominican: 800 Years and Counting on You”, will help kick-off the anniversary celebrations.

This will be President Carroll’s first time giving the Mazzuchelli Lecture.

“As we celebrate the history of the Dominicans, it’s more important now than ever before that we emphasize the link between the legacy of the Sisters, Friars and the lay Dominican leadership with the students and faculty,” said President Carroll. “My giving the lecture is symbolic of the future of the Dominican mission and tradition and the responsibility of taking it into the world. It all falls increasingly on you and me.”

President Carroll is aware of her responsibility in being chosen to give the Mazzuchelli Lecture on such a special occasion.

“I’m delighted to be giving the lecture because it has required me to do a lot of thinking about my 22 years at Dominican,” said President Carroll. “This university has always been an institution lead by well-educated women, with the mission to educate women since the beginning. I’m the first lay president and also the longest serving president and it’s an honor to be bringing all of these elements together to give the Mazzuchelli Lecture.”

In preparation for her lecture, President Carroll traveled to Rome this past summer where she got the chance to see some of the historic Dominican sites that are housed there.

“I took the time I had in Rome to soak in the Dominican history so that when I came back to write my talk, I could be inspired by its richness that I was lucky enough to experience first-hand,” said President Carroll.

She hopes that everyone who comes to hear her lecture will realize just how important they are in the history and tradition of the Dominicans.

“This is an opportunity for folks to realize that we’re part of this larger Dominican universe that reaches back 800 years,” said President Carroll. “The same Dominican tradition that was founded all those years ago is still operative today and keeps embracing different worlds, different people, and different times. I hope people feel proud of and connected to their Dominican ancestry.”

malomarya@my.dom.edu