To commemorate Sister Camille Kliebhan’s 50th year at Stritch, the
University will name the new conference center that is being built in
Bonaventure Hall the Sister Camille Kliebhan Conference Center.
Currently the University’s chancellor, Sister Camille joined Stritch
in 1955, the year she earned her Ph.D. In the 49 years since then, she
has served in a number of administrative and academic positions,
including president, from 1974-91.
During her years at Stritch, Sister Camille has also dedicated time
and talent in service to numerous corporate and civic-based
organizations in the community, including a decades-old commitment to
Rotary International, and has been the recipient of many awards.
“The University is honored to have benefited from nearly five decades
of Sister Camille’s service and commitment,” Stritch President Sister
Mary Lea Schneider said in announcing the naming of the conference
center for her. “She has interacted with and touched the lives of
thousands of students, and through our graduates, the lives of countless
more individuals. And the grace, humility and deep dedication to
Franciscan values she always demonstrates have endeared Sister Camille
to so many and to all of us here at the University.”
With the new Sister Camille Kliebhan Conference Center, which is
expected to open this fall, Stritch will be able provide an esthetically
pleasing environment for local and national conferences and events that
support the University’s mission and values. Situated near the expanded
Bonaventure Hall main entrance, the center will accommodate groups of
up to 425 people. The facility can also be divided into three sections,
to host smaller events.
“It is a deep honor that the Conference Center will bear my name,”
Sister Camille said. “It will be a beautiful environment for events such
as mission-driven conferences on teaching and nursing, and it will
provide an unmatched opportunity to introduce professionals and
potential students to our campus and our community.”
The $14 million expansion of Bonaventure Hall, which houses academic
and administrative space, is part of the Campaign for Cardinal Stritch
University, the most ambitious capital campaign in the school’s 66-year
history. To date, Stritch has received about $6 million in campaign
pledges.
The three-level Bonaventure project consists of a 72,000-square-foot
addition that will result in a dramatic new facility almost 3½ times
its original size. The project will transform and greatly enhance
Bonaventure, creating a state-of-the-art learning environment for
students, faculty and staff. The space also will enable Stritch to
better serve the greater community, particularly through the addition of
the conference center.
“We are very excited about the construction of the new wing for
Bonaventure Hall and the Campaign for Cardinal Stritch University,”
Sister Mary Lea said. “This truly is a campaign to provide students with
the resources and opportunities they need to better their lives so that
they, in turn, can better our world.”