Sinsinawa Dominican receives ATS Distinguished Service Award

August 16, 2006--The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) honored Sinsinawa Dominican Diane Kennedy, OP, with its tenth Distinguished Service Award at the 2006 Biennial Meeting.

Former vice president and academic dean of Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, MO, Kennedy was the second woman to serve as president of the Association, from 1996–98, and was a member of the ATS Executive Committee for six years. An active participant in the Association’s Women in Leadership in Theological Education program, she has been a trusted colleague and mentor to other women leader sand those aspiring to leadership positions in theological schools.

Charles Bouchard, O.P., president of Aquinas Institute of Theology, introduced Kennedy at the award banquet by citing her pioneering work in the development of a collaborative vision of Dominican spirituality. Cynthia Campbell, ATS president and president of McCormick Theological Seminary, said of Kennedy in presenting the award, “For her unfailing commitment to excellence in theological education, for her selfless service to the work of the Association, for her intelligence and wisdom so freely shared, and for her deep devotion to our common enterprise, we offer our gratitude.”

Prior recipients of the award are Krister Stendahl (1988), Robert Wood Lynn (1990), Charles Shelby Rooks (1992), Sara P. Little (1994), David A. Hubbard (1996), Martin E. Marty (1998), Vincent DePaul Cushing (2000), Robert E. Cooley (2002), and Barbara Brown Zikmund (2004).

Diane Kennedy currently serves as associate provost of Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois.