Transforming People, Places and Spirits


​There are more than 40,000 Donnelly College alumni in Kansas City and beyond who may not be where they are today if they had not found Donnelly College. Donnelly helped transform their lives, positively impacting their families and their communities.

Thanks to our generous donors and partners, Donnelly has fully implemented the campus master plan. This campaign  investment will enable Donnelly to continue providing students with the life-changing benefits of higher education, impacting generations of families and our greater Kansas City community as a whole. 


From left: Monsignor Stuart Swetland, president of Donnelly College, Ruben Bueno '13 and Archbishop Joesph F. Nauman at SHINE, Donnelly's annual celebration for our students and mission. Learn more about SHINE. 
Transforming People
More than seventy percent of Donnelly students are the first in their families to go to college. Donnelly is committed to providing the support and guidance these students need to earn a postsecondary certificate or degree. Donnelly’s commitment to student success allows our students to focus gaining the knowledge and skills they need to prepare for on the bigger picture -- transformation. Donnelly students strive to better themselves and their communities through education. 
 
“I didn’t think I could make it to medical school or do all these great things, and it would not have happened had I not come to Donnelly College. I had good grades in high school and a great ACT score, but nobody in my family had ever attended college. I chose Donnelly College because it’s affordable and supportive.”
 Ruben Bueno, ‘13 
(Currently attending the University of Kansas Medical School)
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Donnelly College Event Center, part of Phase I of the Campus Master Plan. Learn more about all three phases here. 
Transforming Places
Approximately a third of Donnelly's students live in Wyandotte County, the most diverse county in Kansas and one of most diverse in the U.S. Federally designated as both a Minority-serving and Hispanic-serving institution, Donnelly has been recognized as the Most Diverse College in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report for five consecutive years. As one of only two bachelor-degree-granting institutions in Wyandotte County, Donnelly brings opportunity to the heart of the urban core, and positively impacts the community by helping to create a diverse, educated workforce and a new generation of budding entrepreneurs.   

By funding three phases of campus improvements, the Transformations Campaign has been critical to helping Donnelly realize its vision of becoming the most transformative Catholic college in the country. 

According to Donnelly Board member and Transformations Campaign Chair, Dr. John Romito ’66, "To remain competitive in today's higher education market, an excellent learning environment is just as important as excellent instruction,"  
Donnelly graduates (from left) Br. Martin Navarro, Keith Boyd, Wasiba Hamad and Peilong Zhou
Transforming Spirits
The lives of our students and their families are forever changed as they walk across the commencement stage to receive a college diploma. But to take a student from the admissions office to the commencement stage takes more than a singular focus on academics.

The Catholic tradition of higher education that is present at Donnelly College offers a whole person-focused approach and a values-oriented environment that serves students’ minds, bodies, hearts and spirits. Donnelly is skilled at providing a safe space for students to consider their faith in and out of the classroom, to explore life’s greater purpose, to dive deep into controversial issues facing society today and to think about actions of right and wrong. Doing this in a supportive and inclusive environment prepares students to become independent thinkers and leaders, able to succeed in any field.
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“I’m not a very religious person, but the first thing that was super impactful was that Sister opened her class with prayer. We’re in the heart of Wyandotte, and there’s just so much stuff going on, trying to pull me away from going to school. Being able to sit in a classroom feels safe. Prayer is being said. It just really makes me feel at home. One of Donnelly’s mottos is ‘become the best version of yourself’ and that is so valuable and magnificent to me. It’s just a really great platform for me to actually express myself and be the best version that I can become."
​Niesha King, '17

“Attending a Catholic college has been an important part of my formational experience in my studies toward the Catholic priesthood. Donnelly College is incredibly diverse religiously, economically, and ethnically. This diversity has formed an environment in which I can personally encounter others whose individual circumstances cannot be understood through a lecture in a seminary classroom. Ultimately, it has helped me grow in understanding of the mystery of the Incarnation in which Almighty God becomes one of us, suffers like us, and converts our hearts by loving us to the end, a love I must imitate as a future Catholic priest. My experience at Donnelly College has helped form in me a heart that burns of love for God and others.”
Br. Martin N., '17, '19

Meet the Future of Kansas City

What kind of Kansas City do you want to live in?  What are your hopes for our shared future?

Donnelly College believes in a Kansas City where everyone has access to high-quality, affordable, Catholic higher education, and where all who wish to pursue their dreams are able to do so, regardless of their background or present day circumstances. 

Since 1949, Donnelly College has been a vital part of our metropolitan area and the region to make our shared dreams for a great Kansas City a reality. Each day our students are preparing to be Kansas City's next generation of highly-diverse, highly-educated healthcare professionals, teachers, entrepreneurs and more, ​leading our community into the future. Meet a few of them below, then learn how Donnelly is using higher education ​to transform people, places and spirits. 

​More videos profiling Donnelly's students and alumni available at YouTube.