Murray Institute to present award Nov. 24 to Archbishop Emeritus Harry Flynn
The Murray Institute will celebrate its 16th anniversary of service to Catholic educators and present its Archbishop John Gregory Murray Medallion award at a 6 p.m. Mass and dinner on Monday, Nov. 24, at the University of St. Thomas.
Most Rev.
Harry Flynn
The Murray Medallion, given for outstanding leadership in Catholic education, will be presented to the Most Rev. Harry Flynn, archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Among those giving their congratulations will be the Rev. Dennis Dease, president of St. Thomas, and Archbishop John Nienstedt, who succeeded Flynn in May 2007.
With its roots in the John Gregory Murray Fund begun at St. Thomas in 1964 for “the training of teachers for St. Paul archdiocesan schools,” the Murray Institute was established in 1992. The Murray Institute enables educators in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to participate in programs that help to develop the professional and spiritual dimensions of their lives.
The institute serves the educational needs of teachers and principals as well as religious educators in the archdiocese. It provides graduate courses, degree programs and other continuing education opportunities through its endowment. Many of the participants could not otherwise afford further education.
This unique collaboration between St. Thomas and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis enables archdiocesan educators to earn tuition-free master’s degrees in religious education, curriculum and instruction, educational leadership, and education specialist degrees. In return, recipients agree to three years of service in archdiocesan parishes and schools.
The Murray Institute currently serves 100 students and will add one more cohort program in spring 2009 and another in fall 2009; its alumni number approximately 550 Catholic school and parish educators.
For further information about the Murray Institute, contact coordinator Jane Fennell at (651) 962-4883.
