Presidents’ Circle

The President’s Society recognizes donors who make a cumulative gift of $1,500 to $2,499 during the fiscal year (July 1-June 30).

Brian J. Bruess, Ph.D., became president of both the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University on July 1, 2022. Prior to that he served as president of St. Norbert College, a nationally renowned Catholic liberal arts school with over 2,000 students in DePere, Wisconsin, since 2017.

Before his time at St. Norbert, Bruess spent nearly 22 years at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, rising to serve with distinction as the executive vice president and chief operating officer. 

Bruess earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Norbert College (1990) and his master’s and doctoral degrees in college student personnel/research and evaluation from Ohio University.

The Idzerda Society recognizes donors who make a cumulative gift of $2,500 to $4,999 during the fiscal year (July 1-June 30).

Dr. Stanley J. Idzerda was the eighth president of the College of Saint Benedict and the first lay president of a women’s college in Minnesota.  He took office on July 1, 1968. Dr. Idzerda’s presidency saw record surges in enrollment as well as implementation to new programs, including Nursing, East Asian Studies, Physical Therapy, Liberal Studies and Individualized Majors that complemented the 29 already established majors. The first of many programs in place today were under the direction of the eighth (and the first male) president of the college. The first study abroad program occurred in the fall of 1972 to southern France.  Summer classes began enrollment in the summer of 1973, and plans for employing student workers on campus began in 1973.

The Renner Society recognizes donors who make a cumulative gift of $5,000 to $9,999 during the fiscal year (July 1-June 30).

Sister Emmanuel Renner, OSB was the tenth president of the College of Saint Benedict from 1979 to 1986 and the first Benedictine president since 1968. S. Emmanuel oversaw the continued growth of the student body despite a statewide decrease of high school graduates, she planned the cooperative core curriculum for CSB/SJU, and she worked toward adding necessary facilities to the campus.

The O’Connell Society recognizes donors who make a cumulative gift of $10,000 to $24,999 during the fiscal year (July 1-June 30).

Sister Colman O’Connell, OSB was the 11th president of the College of Saint Benedict from 1986-1996. As president, S. Colman led CSB through many academic changes and organizational modifications, as well as the construction of several new buildings on campus. 

Sister Colman’s presidency was full of exciting changes for CSB. She and Br. Dietrich Reinhart, president of Saint John’s University, continued to grow and expand the coordinate relationship between CSB and SJU through the implementation of a joint core curriculum and joint academic departments. New majors of Peace Studies, Communication, and Computer Science and new minors of Asian Studies, Athletic Training, and Gender Studies were added to both schools’ offerings.

An important administrative development was the creation of the Coordinate Cabinet, which is composed of CSB and SJU presidents and vice presidents. Sister Colman served the College of Saint Benedict as a Senior Development Officer within the department of Institutional Advancement until she passed away on September 30, 2017. 

The Westkaemper Society recognizes donors who make a cumulative gift of $25,000 to $49,999 during the fiscal year (July 1-June 30).

Sister Remberta Westkaemper, OSB was the fifth president at the College of Saint Benedict from 1957 to 1961. Until S. Remberta’s term, the presidency of the college had been a joint position: The Prioress of the Monastery was also the President of the College. S. Remberta was the first non-prioress to be president of CSB, and thus also the first fulltime president of the College. In an opening address for the 1960 academic year, S. Remberta explained what it meant to be a member of a college community:

“What does it mean to be a member of a college community? It means that you are committed to the search for knowledge for its own sake. This is your first duty as a student. I could enumerate many traits of a student, but I will mention only two: desire for knowledge and the will to discipline yourself. Unless you are motivated by a true desire for knowledge you may spend many years in college but you will never be a student. No matter how good the teachers, or how adequate the library, nor how fine the convocation programs, you will not learn. No teacher can learn for her students, for learning goes on within the person of the learner.”

The Kapsner Society recognizes donors who make a cumulative gift of $50,000 and above during the fiscal year (July 1-June 30).

Mother Ceceila Kapsner was elected Mother Prioress on July 27, 1901 and served three consecutive terms as prioress until 1919. During her time as Prioress, there was considerable material expansion, including the building of an infirmary at the Motherhouse (1903), a wing and a laundry (1904-1910) for St. Joseph’s Home in St. Cloud, an addition to St. Alexius Hospital in Bismarck, North Dakota (1905), and finally (1914) the Sacred Heart Chapel at the Motherhouse and a new wing for the Main Building for the newly founded Saint Benedict’s College in 1913.

Initially the college was founded to further the education of the sisters so that they could better the educational, medical, and other services they provided for the local community. As time went on, Saint Benedict’s College (later College of Saint Benedict) served to continue to educate the students of St. Benedict’s Academy as well as students from the Midwest region in a Catholic and Benedictine setting. In 1917, the College was accredited by Catholic University as a two-year junior college and was able to issue its first degree.