Press Release

Award for Service with Women Goes to Saint Mary's College Senior

Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary’s College
Notre Dame, Ind.
(574) 284-4579

April 20, 2009 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—The Office for Civic and Social Engagement (OCSE) at Saint Mary's College is pleased to announce that Rebecca Faunce ’09 of Elkhart will receive one of the College’s seven unique service and volunteer awards. The awards recognize students who give their time and talent to serve the greater South Bend community.

Faunce, who is majoring in sociology and women’s studies, will receive one of five new annual awards named for Sisters of the Holy Cross. The Congregation founded the Catholic, all-women’s college in 1844. Faunce will be honored with the Sister Christine Healy Award for Service with Women. Sister Healy (1922 – 2008) epitomized the Holy Cross charism of hospitality. Zealous for all the issues affecting women, she ministered to drug addicts, abused women and others in need through her work at the Center for Women in Fresno, Calif.

Faunce’s passion for women’s issues is evident in her volunteer work at Saint Margaret’s House, a day shelter for women in South Bend. Among her many contributions to the center is a computer literacy program she created to teach the women new skills. Kathy Schneider, director of the shelter, nominated Faunce for the award and wrote, “She is very articulate about our work, and her passion for women shines through.” Psychology Professor Catherine Pittman, who also nominated Faunce wrote, “Her enthusiasm is boundless and her determination to make a difference, especially in the lives of women, energizes her whole life.”

Faunce has been an advocate for women since her freshman year at Saint Mary's. She immediately became involved with the College’s Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership (CWIL), taking part in the Catalyst Trip twice (once as a student leader) and helping to pilot the Certificate in Intercultural Leadership. She further assisted CWIL
by compiling their leadership library and attending the Women as Global Leaders Conference in Dubai. (For more information on CWIL, go to http://centerforwomeninleadership.org/.) As a first year student, Faunce joined Feminists United and the Women’s Resource Center and worked closely with both over the next four years, helping to coordinate programming at the College around women’s issues.

Her other accomplishments include working on the Saint Mary’s Monologues and the South Bend Community Monologues (a project with Indiana University South Bend) as an actor and director.

Faunce and the other award winners will be recognized at a dinner at the College on Wednesday, April 29.

About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. The College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary's College ranks among the nation's top liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report's 2009 annual survey. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.