Angela Jerabek, a 1990 College of Saint Benedict graduate and executive director of the BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) Center, will deliver the Saint Ben’s commencement address at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 17, in Clemens Field House on the CSB campus.
Jerabek will address the 2025 Saint Ben’s graduating class of 352 undergraduate women and 14 nursing master’s and doctoral graduates.
Nominated by her peers, Lydia Mattern, a graduating theology major from Fargo, North Dakota, has been selected to provide the CSB student commencement address.
Then, at 3 p.m. that same day, Fr. Bill Lies, CSC, a 1984 Saint John’s University graduate and provincial superior of the U.S. Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross, will give the Saint John’s commencement address in Saint John’s Abbey and University Church.
Lies will address the 2025 Saint John’s graduating class of 337 undergraduate men and 26 School of Theology and Seminary graduates.
Nominated by his peers, Canaan Cooper, a graduating biochemistry major from Nassau, The Bahamas, has been selected to provide the SJU student commencement address.
Angela Jerabek, who received her bachelor’s degree from CSB in education, began her career in education as a licensed K-12 teacher and secondary school counselor. She developed the BARR Model over 25 years ago and has expanded it from one school in the Midwest to more than 350 schools throughout the U.S., serving over 400,000 students. Every single school participating in BARR has reported improved student outcomes, from increased math and reading scores, to decreased absenteeism and behavior incidences.
Jerabek has published five books and several op-eds and articles in various publications. Often looked to for her expertise, Jerabek has been featured in USA Today, National Public Radio and CNBC.
In 2024, she was awarded the prestigious James Bryant Conant Award – one of three awards that the Education Commission of the States (ECS) presents each year to celebrate outstanding commitment to public education.
In 2021, Jerabek was selected as the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s National “Wisest Wonk,” a contest designed to generate conversation surrounding critical issues within education reform.
In the fall of 2020, she was awarded the Donald McNeely Center Social Entrepreneur of the Year by CSB and SJU.
Fr. Bill Lies received his bachelor’s degree from SJU in English with minors in French and philosophy, followed by a Master of Divinity from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in Latin American politics from the University of Pittsburgh. He professed Final Vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1993 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1994.
As provincial superior, Lies oversees the work and welfare of more than 400 priests, brothers and seminarians in the U.S. Province, which includes missions in Chile, Peru and Mexico.
Before becoming provincial superior, Lies was vice president for mission engagement and church affairs at Notre Dame, a role he began in March of 2012.
He formerly served as executive director of the Center for Social Concerns at Notre Dame (2002-12) and taught in the Department of Political Science. In 2013, Fr. Bill received Catholic Charities U.S.A.’s “Keep the Dream Alive” award, which honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
He is a fellow of both the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies.