About Us

Dominican University established the St. Catherine of Siena Center to examine critical issues of church and society in the light of faith and scholarship. The center calls together members of the university community, professional ministers and the wider community of faith who are committed to deepening their insight into the role of the Christian in today's world.

Like St. Catherine of Siena, the center is concerned with the Church's mission of justice in the world and its own continuous and faithful reform. As St. Catherine responded to the intellectual and ministerial needs of the Church in her day, so the Center is dedicated to the pursuit of truth and creation of a more just and humane world now.

The center addresses these issues in a variety of ways; including lectures, symposia, conferences, workshops, retreats, research and discussion groups.

MAJOR PROGRAMS

Each academic year, the Siena Center explores a new theme tied to a pressing contemporary social, cultural or ecclesial issue. Past series, for example, have examined environmental sustainability, interreligious dialogue, the common good, immigration, and the role of the arts in worship. We seek to involve members of the wider community as well as the Dominican University community in an on-going conversation with some of the sharpest minds and finest exemplars of the Christian tradition.

The Mazzuchelli Lecture , a long-standing tradition at Dominican University, focuses on topics of cultural significance. It honors Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, the founder of the Sinsinawa Dominicans, sponsors of Dominican University. The Siena Center is pleased to co-sponsor the Mazzuchelli Lecture with Dominican University’s Promoter of Mission Integration.

In November, the Albertus Magnus Lecture honors the Dominican saint who is patron of scientists, as we explore the relationship between science and religion. It takes place on or near November 15, the feast day of St. Albert the Great. The Albertus Magnus Society , a gathering of persons who share an academic, professional or general interest in exploring issues related to the intersection of religious belief or experience and scientific insight, meets regularly throughout the academic year in the pursuit of new information and insight in a setting that is both scholarly and congenial. 

Each Advent , when the church looks forward in hope, we ponder signs of the fulfillment of God's reign in the church or the larger world. During Lent , a time of reconciliation, we consider the many places where reconciliation is needed and where healing is taking place.

The Caritas et Veritas Lecture supports the mission of Dominican University by exploring a dimension of the Dominican tradition. It is hosted by the Siena Center with the Office of Mission and Ministry each year around January 29, the Feast Day of the great Dominican theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas.

Finally, toward the end of each academic year, the St. Catherine Lecture honors the center's namesake as one committed to the call of the baptized to transform the world. This lecture reflects St. Catherine's commitment to the continuing reform of the church; it takes place each year near the time of her feast, April 29.

In these events we seek to explore a diversity of contemporary social and church issues, including business ethics, health care, liturgical reform, war and peace, church authority and governance, social justice and the role of the arts in worship. We seek to involve members of the wider community as well as the Dominican University community in an on-going conversation on these issues.

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LOCATION

The St. Catherine of Siena Center is located at the Priory Campus of Dominican University, at the northwest corner of the intersection of Harlem and Division Streets in River Forest, Illinois. The original site of Aquinas Institute, the Dominican school of theology now located in St. Louis, Missouri, the Priory Campus is now part of Dominican University. This facility contains a chapel, classrooms, auditorium, and other gathering areas, providing a contemplative atmosphere where faith, scholarship and pastoral experience can be shared and deepened.

SIENA CENTER STAFF

Claire Noonan, DMin

Elizabeth McMahon Jeep, PhD

Kari Hamende

Communication and Events Coordinator, brings a rich background in theology and ministry, events and office management, and relationship-building.  She can be reached at khamende@dom.edu.

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Bryan Cones

is managing editor of U.S. Catholic magazine, which is published by Claretian Publications in Chicago, and writes the magazine’s award-winning monthly column, “The Examined Life.” He joined the staff of U.S. Catholic in October 2004 as an assistant editor and editor of Lutheran scholar Martin E. Marty's monthly newsletter Context. Prior to joining Claretian Publications, Cones worked in book publishing at Liturgy Training Publications of the Archdiocese of Chicago and has also taught liturgy, spirituality, and theology at the secondary, college, and adult levels. He has written widely on liturgy and spirituality for pastoral publications, including collections of prayers for personal use and for use at daily Mass. He holds a Master of Arts degree in theology from Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Conception Seminary College. Bryan may be reached at conesb@claretians.org.

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Kate Dooley, OP, PhD

is currently an adjunct professor at Dominican University. For the past twenty-five years she taught catechetics and liturgy in The School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She holds an M.A. from the Catholic University of America, a M.Th. from Harvard Divinity School, and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. She has published widely in catechetical and liturgical journals, and written a number of texts and resource materials for religious education. She is the recipient of national awards from the National Conference of Cathechetical Leadership, F. Sadlier Dinger Award, National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors and the Notre Dame Center for Pastoral Liturgy. She is one of the General Editors for the Benziger series, Christ Jesus the Way. Other publications are To Listen and Tell: Commentary on the Introduction to the Lectionary for Masses with Children (Washington, D.C.: Pastoral Press, 1993); co-edited The Echo Within: Emerging Issues in Religious Education (Allen, Texas: Thomas More, 1997); and is currently working on Be What You Celebrate on liturgical catechesis. She may be reached at cdooley@dom.edu.

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Kathleen Foley

is a long-time resident of Oak Park, practiced as an advanced practice registered nurse for 40 years in various capacities, including work with veterans, clinic management, individual and group psychotherapy, and pharmacotherapy until her retirement in 2008.  She is a member of St. Giles parish, the Catholic Jewish Dialogue Group of Chicago, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, and volunteers with The Night Ministry.  She has served on the boards of directors of the Oak Park River Forest Community of Congregations and Oak Park River Forest Community Nursing, as Secretary of the Illinois Chapter of the American Psychiatric Nursing Association, and as participant in Catholic Theological Union’s “In Good Faith” Series in Catholic, Jewish and Muslim Issues.  She has received a B.S. and an M.S. in nursing from St. Xavier University.  Kathleen is married to Daniel J. Foley. They have two children and two grandchildren.

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John Fontana

is the President of Fontanta Leadership Development, Inc., an organizational and leadership development firm that provides consultation, educational and facilitation services to improve the effectiveness of leaders in managing individual and organizational change. John is past Executive Director of Partners for Catholic Health Ministry Leadership, a consortium of seventeen Catholic Health Organizations. He founded and was the Executive Director of The Crossroads Center for Faith and Work at Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago, a significant resource in the Chicago business community to encourage ethical and value reflection in the workplace. John has taught management courses at Georgetown University, Dominican University, Loyola University of Chicago, and Elmhurst College. He has taught ministry courses at the University of Notre Dame, Mundelein College, Loyola University of New Orleans and St. Mary of the Lake University. He holds a Master's in Management (MBA) Degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a Master's Degree in Religious Education from Loyola University of Chicago, and is a Doctor of Ministry Candidate at St. Mary of the Lake University.

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René Howard-Páez

is a junior journalism major at Dominican University. Ren é is serving as an R.A for his second straight year, this year having the privilege of serving over 40 freshman students in Coughlin Hall at the Main Campus. He is an avid writer for the student newspaper, the Dominican Star, and has written stories varying from hard news, feature articles, some of which have been published by the National Catholic Reporter, and sports. He is also a member of the Organization of Latin Americans student organization on campus, and participates in University Ministry retreats and activities. He can be reached at howarene@my.dom.edu

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Diane Kennedy, OP, DMin

is associate provost of Dominican University. She was the founding Director of the Parable Conference for Dominican Life and Mission and a former Vicaress General of the Sinsinawa Dominicans. In addition to her doctoral degree in ministry from the Pacific School of Religion, she holds a master's degree in theology from the Aquinas Institute of Theology and a master's degree in English from the University of Notre Dame. Sister Diane is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fund for Theological Education and the Board of Trustees of Trinity High School, River Forest, Illinois. She is a former academic dean of Aquinas Institute of Theology and past present of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS). Her scholarly focus has centered on biblical and theological principles for equality and mutuality, the psychological and social factors influencing gender roles, and transformative models of leadership and ministry. She may be reached at dkennedy@dom.edu

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Bob Kolatorowicz

is the Director of both Adult Spiritual Ministries and Social Justice Ministries at Old St. Patrick's Church.  Since joining the staff in 1990, Bob's work has primarily focused on adult spirituality programs, but also included work in stewardship, religious education, community outreach, young adult programming and direction of the Crossroads Center.  A current interest is developing links between contemplative spirituality and action on behalf of social justice.  Bob has also taught sacramental theology and moral theology in the Archdiocesan Lay Ministry and Deacon Formation programs.  His publications include contributions to various Catholic journals and book team member for Among Us! (a small group Scripture study series.)  Before coming to Old St. Patrick's, Bob taught religion at Quigley Seminary South.  He has earned degrees in urban studies, philosophy, and theology.  Bob, his wife Anne, and their daughter Maya reside in the western suburbs.

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Hannah Minks

is a senior theology major and art history minor at Dominican University. In University Ministry, she is a member of the Faith Formation core area in the Student Leaders And Ministers (SLAM) group. She serves as a coach with the Interfaith Youth Core, helping students in the Midwest build campus movements. She is a co-leader of the Better Together campaign, engaging DU students and faculty on topics of interfaith service and religious pluralism.  Hannah also cantors for the DU student Masses in Rosary Chapel. She can be reached at minkhann@my.dom.edu

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Brian Murphy

is a partner at a Latz & Wall partner, and a seasoned development professional with more than 20 years experience as a nonprofit consultant and senior advancement leader and manager. Brian has extensive experience as a non-profit executive serving as Vice President for External Relations at Catholic Theological Union, Chief Development Officer at the Francis W. Parker School, and the Vice President for Development at the Hazelden Foundation in Chicago. In these roles, he not only conducted and oversaw development and external relations activity, he also sat on leadership teams tasked with strategic and operational aspects of the organizations.  His commitment to life-long learning led him to graduate studies in theology where he earned a Master of Arts degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in 2005. In addition to his professional work, Brian pursues opportunities to explore and to promote peace and reconciliation initiatives worldwide, with a particular focus on projects in Native America and Northern Ireland. Brian and his wife Patricia live in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago.

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Anthony Suárez-Abraham

Anthony Suárez-Abraham is a Cuban-American from Miami, Florida. He is currently an adjunct professor at the Catholic Theological Union and doctoral candidate in Systematic Theology at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, completing his dissertation on latitudinal eschatologies under the direction of Brazilian theologian, Prof. Vítor Westhelle, PhD. He is the past-recipient of a Fellowship from the Hispanic Theological Initiative along with numerous international and national awards including the Regions Bank Young Hispanic Leadership Award for Distinguished Professional Accomplishments and Community Service, Metro-Dade County Health Department Commendation for his advocacy and community service work with the HIV and AIDS community, Jubilee Pontifical Medal from the Archdiocese of Miami, and Medal of Commendation from the Vatican Museums. In addition to his appointment to the Advisory Board of the Sienna Center at Dominican University, he is on the Board of Directors of L’Arche Chicago. He may be reached at suarez-abraham@att.net.

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Tonia Triggiano, PhD

is an associate professor of Italian and has served Dominican University's Modern Foreign Languages department since 1995; first in adjunct positions, as director of its language learning center and, since, 2006, in full time capacity. She received her BA from Rosary College and her MA and PhD in Itallian Studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She specializesin Medieval Italian literature and her work researches paleography, the devotional literature of Medieval Franciscan women, the works of Dante Alighieri and, most recently, the relationship between Dante's conception of Paradiso (the third canticle of the Commedia) and the Byzantine mosaic programs of the cit of Ravenna. She can be reached at trigtoni@dom.edu.  

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Leticia Villarreal Sosa, LCSW, PhD 

is an assistant professor at Dominican University's Graduate School of Social Work. She received her BA from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and her MA and PhD from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. She specializes in educational policy, social identity, school social work, and immigrant adaptation. Her current research interests focus on conceptualizing the ministry of accompaniment with a Mexican immigrant community in Chicago and in the Guatemalan context. She is particularly interested in the role of Catholic churches in providing social services to the Latino community within a social justice framework.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

Siena Center
Priory Campus
Dominican University
7200 West Division Street
River Forest, IL 60305
(708) 714-9105
siena@dom.edu