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Catholic Identity


Donnelly College is the Catholic college of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, our sponsor. As such, the College is committed to the principles of Catholic social justice and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Benedictine Sisters from Atchison, Kansas, have been instrumental to the College since inception and our educational approach embraces the values they promote, including hospitality, community, and inclusiveness.

Our goal at DC is to transform students through our educational programming by broadening their vision of the world, encouraging their service to others, developing their full potential, and enabling them to become lifelong seekers of truth in the Catholic intellectual tradition (see our Student Learning Goals). We do so in a way that minimizes costs in order to promote access—all with the belief that this truly helps to make the love of God tangible in our world.

In 1949, Donnelly College began a joint venture of Bishop George Donnelly, bishop of Kansas City, Kansas, and Sister Jerome Keeler, a Benedictine Sister of Atchison, Kansas. They saw the need to make Catholic higher education available in the urban core—our mission, rooted in the Catholic faith, still stands strong after more than 60 years and is needed more than ever.