A Legacy of Leaders
Sister Claire Lynch ’30*
1898-1995
Dean of college (1932-1940)
When Sister Claire Lynch took on her role as academic dean of the College of Saint Benedict in 1932, the college had just been denied accreditation by the North Central Association (NCA). It was both a wake-up call and a slap in the face for the young institution. And Sister Claire would not stand for it.
The choice of Sister Claire as dean was just the bolt of energy the college needed for the 1930s. Her task: stabilize the college’s finances, improve its reputation, raise its visibility, get bigger and better. This would have been a big enough job at any time, but taking control in the darkest year of the Great Depression made the job harder.
She reduced the number of courses offerend and ensured that the bulletin (the course catalog at the time) announced the restriction of upper division courses to juniors and seniors. She reduced the number of faculty from 40 to 25 and arranged that the faculty teach full time in the college rather than teach part time in both the academy (high school) and the college. She defined the policies regarding admission, promotion and graduation. And she insisted that sisters be given sufficient opportunity to complete their graduate degrees.
As a result of these changes, the NCA accredited the college just one year later, in 1933. A 1935 NCA inspection report applauded “many evidences … which indicated a high degree of educational idealism and competent administrative practice.” Those included a thorough revision of records, improved quality of students, increased enrollment, the appointment of a lay advisory committee and the development of a good accounting system.
Living members of the Mystical Body of Christ
During Sister Claire’s term from 1932 to 1940, renowned Catholic social activists Dorothy Day and Baroness Catherine de Hueck were frequent lecturers at CSB convocations. Their messages inspired a number of students to volunteer their services during summers at Friendship House in Harlem and in Chicago and at the Catholic Worker in New York.
As a result of such enriching experiences, in 1938 two students, Betty Schneider ’39 and Josephine Zehnle Terwey ’39, working under Baroness de Hueck at Friendship House, recruited Kathleen Yanes Waynes ’42 and Gertrude Danavall, the first two African-American students to matriculate at Saint Benedict’s.
Shortly after that, Sister Claire received a letter from the St. Paul chapter of the alumnae association protesting the acceptance of these two women as students. In her usual forthright manner, Sister Claire responded by saying, “as a Catholic college it is our policy to accept students of any race. …” She pointed out that as early as 1908 St. Benedict’s Academy had accepted an African-American student; in addition, several Chinese and Native American students had enrolled in the college in the 1930s. Sister Claire added:
“Saint Benedict’s professes to be a Catholic college. As such it tries to inculcate and live the teachings of the Church which condemn racial discrimination as unjust, immoral and unchristian. … We would be failing utterly to abide by Catholic principles were we to reject these young women who are living members of the Mystical Body of Christ. … In conclusion, I can only say that we are even more eager than our alumnae that our college retain its present prestige, but we are certain that our status as a Catholic college will be but improved by an act which is, after all, only outward evidence of our belief in Christian – not to say Catholic principles.”
In addition to her time as dean, Sister Claire served the College of Saint Benedict as an instructor of history, philosophy and political science. In 1984, the college’s gymnasium and athletic building was named in her honor. She passed away in 1995.
*Content drawn largely from chapter 11 of With Hearts Expanded, by Sister Emmanuel Renner ’49, and Challenging Women Since 1913, by Annette Atkins.