2003 O'Neil D'Amour Award
Sister Kathryn Ann Connelly, SC
Sister Kathryn Ann Connelly, a Sister of Charity, served Catholic education as a teacher, high school principal, director of educational services and superintendent of schools in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and president of the Chief Administrators of Catholic Education Department of NCEA.
At the national level, as president of CACE, Sister was a catalyst for moving the membership toward consensus about the future. She assisted in the search for the new president of NCEA. As a member of the NCEA Board of Directors, she was a strong supporter of NABCCCE in its bid for departmental status.
Sister Kathryn Ann left a strong imprint on the Cincinnati Catholic schools. Her lasting legacy includes: strong Catholic identity, integration of technology into the curriculum, a focus on students with special needs, test scores in the top quarter of the nation, and proficiency test scores reflecting the highest scores in Catholic schools in Ohio. She also has served on a large number of civic boards, including the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, the University of Cincinnati Advisory Council to the Dean of Education, the Job Corps, the Junior Achievement, the Good Samaritan Hospital Board, and the Sisters of Charity Foundation Board.
Among the honors which already have been bestowed on Sister Kathryn Ann are the 1990 YWCA Career Women Achievement Award, the Seton High School Alumni Award, and the Elizabeth Seton Award from the Sisters of Charity. The latter has been bestowed on only five people in its history.
Sister Kathryn Ann Connelly is a faith-filled woman of conviction inspired by both vision and mission to lead Catholic schools in the light of the Gospel. A true lady with a smile and warm friendly way, her life has been given to Catholic education.