On this episode of Making It Personal, Bishop William Joensen and co-host Jean Thill welcome Dr. Donna Carroll, President of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), for a conversation on faith-driven leadership in Catholic higher education. Drawing on her 27 years as president of Dominican University in Illinois, Dr. Carroll discusses the shrinking tenure of Catholic college presidents, the growing need for trust between bishops and campus leaders, and a recent private audience with Pope Leo XIV in Rome. Bishop Joensen also opens the show with reflections on the Feast of the Assumption, the witness of St. Maximilian Kolbe, and the start of a new Catholic school year across the Diocese of Des Moines. Guest: Dr. Donna Carroll, President of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) 27 years as president of Dominican University, Illinois — one of the longest tenures in Catholic higher ed A firsthand account of ACCU's private audience with Pope Leo XIV in Rome St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John Henry Newman as co-patrons of Catholic education Bishop Joensen reflects on the Assumption, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and the new school year
Segment 1 — A New School Year Begins
Bishop William Joensen and co-host Jean Thill open the show marking the start of a new academic year, offering encouragement to students and families and reflecting on the importance of keeping faith life active from day one on campus. The Bishop shares reflections on the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe (Aug. 14) ahead of an upcoming diocesan pilgrimage to Poland with Jon Leonetti departing Sept. 13, 2026, which will include a visit to Auschwitz and Kolbe's cell. He also marks the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Aug. 15), a recent Eucharistic procession following 9 a.m. Mass at St. Joseph Church in Earling, an upcoming Confirmation Mass at St. Boniface Parish in Waukee, and a full slate of back-to-school convocations and opening Masses across the Diocese of Des Moines.
Segment 2 — Meet Dr. Donna Carroll
Bishop Joensen and Jean Thill welcome Dr. Donna Carroll, President of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) and President Emerita of Dominican University, IL, where she served for 27 years — the university's first lay leader and one of the youngest college presidents in the country at the time. Dr. Carroll shares her journey from Brooklyn and Long Island, through Wellesley College, a doctorate at the University of Cincinnati, and roles at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Mount Vernon College, and Fordham University before arriving at what was then Rosary College — sponsored by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters — where she became president. The conversation covers how mission-driven language has been adopted across higher education, the co-patrons of Catholic education (St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John Henry Newman), the legacy of women religious — including St. Katharine Drexel's founding of colleges for Black and Native American students — and the ongoing work of building trust between bishops and Catholic college presidents on today's most pressing issues, from immigration to institutional sponsorship transitions.
Segment 3 — A Visit with Pope Leo XIV
Dr. Carroll recounts ACCU's 2026 Rome Seminar, which brought roughly 20 Catholic college and university presidents to the Vatican for a private audience with Pope Leo XIV — during which the delegation presented the Holy Father with a gift of over 5,000 hours of service performed in his name. She reflects on the Pope's recent apostolic letter, Drawing New Maps of Hope, and his encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, both shaping conversation across Catholic campuses, and notes that the Land O'Lakes Statement will mark its 60th anniversary in 2027. The conversation touches on Pope Leo's ties to Villanova University — his alma mater, led by Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA — before closing out the show.
Learn more about the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities at accunet.org.
Read Pope Leo XIV's full apostolic letter, Drawing New Maps of Hope, at vatican.va.
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