Colman O'Connell, OSB, receives philanthropy award

Colman O'Connell, OSB, senior development officer at the College of Saint Benedict, was recently honored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Minnesota Chapter with the “Outstanding Contribution to Philanthropy” award.

The Minnesota Chapter of AFP represents 370 fundraisers who work to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education and certification programs. Each year, AFP honors individuals and groups who, through their hard work and dedication, have enhanced philanthropy, their communities and the world. The “Outstanding Contribution to Philanthropy” that S. Colman is receiving is similar to a lifetime achievement award.

S. Colman is a 1949 graduate of the college and has served most of her professional career in a variety of roles at CSB including president, executive vice president, vice president of Institutional Advancement,   professor and chairperson of the theater department,   and most recently, senior development officer.

Under S. Colman’s leadership and tireless advocacy, Saint Ben’s has benefitted from her participation in three successful capital campaigns, with the most recent concluding in September, topping the $80 million goal a year early. These campaigns have resulted in construction of a library, science center, campus center, dining and conference center, the renovation of the Benedicta Arts Center of the College of Saint Benedict and a growing endowment.

In the recently concluded capital campaign several anonymous donors have ensured that S. Colman’s namesake, and her legacy, will be known for generations to come. O’Connell’s Pub in the Haehn Campus Center and Colman Theater, a black-box theater in the award-winning Benedicta Arts Center, bear her name and celebrate two of her loves, theater and community building.

The Sister Colman O’Connell Scholarship was also established by a donor.

Through the years, Sister Colman has also been recognized with the Athena Award. She was KARE 11’s Woman of the Year in 1995, and she has received four honorary doctorates in addition to the one which she earned.