CSB's Commitment to Education for Women

The College of Saint Benedict was founded for women by women in 1913 by the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict. Since its inception, the College has had an intentional commitment to the education of women and has provided strong female role models for its students.

This commitment requires an environment in which women are visible, have the power to name their reality, and are validated in their own experiences. The environment is enhanced by a religious community of women who define and shape their own spiritual growth. During her four years at the College of Saint Benedict a student will:

• identify and express her own voice
• expect to be listened to and will be heard
• develop self-confidence and esteem
• develop a capacity for leadership and become an agent for social change
• know herself within community
• challenge, process, and practice her values
• enhance her passion for learning
• become autonomous and live interdependently
• understand the wholeness of life
• express her faith and deepen her spirituality
• learn through risk-taking
• understand and expect equity
• demonstrate compassion and humility towards herself and others

With the backdrop of these experiences, a woman at the College of Saint Benedict has the opportunity to test her strengths, modify her positions, and practice her leadership in counterpoint to and in cooperation with her male colleagues at Saint John's University. It is our hope that she will enter the adult world as an integrated person who is committed to the common good. Together with her colleagues at Saint John's University, she will learn to create true partnerships with men that expect equity and are based on integrity and respect, for the benefit of their personal lives and for the benefit of all of society.

Bennie Book
c/o Student Development
College of Saint Benedict
37 S. College Ave.
St. Joseph, MN 56374
Shelly Athmann