April 27, 2010
On April 16, 2010, the members of the Board of Trustees of the Marianist Trust of St. Mary’s University met on campus for their annual meeting. They allocated $301,886 for the 2010-2011 academic year. Of this amount, $260,600 is for undergraduate scholarships, $20,000 for graduate scholarships, and the remainder for support of the Marianist Leadership Program at St. Mary’s University.
The Marianist Trust was set up in 1972 by members of the Society of Mary (Marianists) who were working at St. Mary’s. For many years, these Marianists contributed their own salaries to a special fund with the idea that the earnings from the fund would be used to help the University fulfill its mission. Each year, the Marianist Trust Board meets to allocate the fund’s earnings. The Trust continues to grow and at the present time 80-90 St. Mary’s students receive scholarship assistance each year from the Trust.
The current members of the Marianist Trust Board are Bro. Charles Cummiskey, Bro. Fred Halwe, Bro. Terry O’Connor, Bro. Mike Sullivan, Bro. Joseph Markel (Province Office representative), Rev. Richard Wosman and Rev. John A. Leies.
The Society of Mary is an international Catholic religious order of priests and brothers, with more than 600 serving in the Province of the United States, which includes Ireland, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, India, Eastern Africa and Mexico. In the United States, the Marianists sponsor three universities St. Mary’s University, University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio and Chaminade University in Honolulu. The Marianists also sponsor 18 high schools, including Central Catholic here in San Antonio, eight parishes and several retreat centers. Blessed William Joseph Chaminade founded the Society of Mary in France in 1817. The order has had a presence in the United States since 1849, when the Marianists came to Cincinnati. St. Mary’s University was found in 1852 with the mission to foster the formation of people in faith and educate leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence.