Benedictine College Names Offeramus, Kansas Monk Honorees

Benedictine College announced that two prominent alumni will be the recipients of the annual Offeramus Medal and Kansas Monk Award during the upcoming Alumni Reunion June 3 – 5. Sister Mary Irene Nowell, OSB, '61 will receive the 2011 Offeramus Medal and Michael J. Murray ’71, M.D., Ph.D. will receive the 2011 Kansas Monk Award. Both honors will be presented during the Alumni Reunion Banquet, set for 6 p.m. on June 4, 2011, on the college campus. For more information or to purchase tickets to the banquet, please contact Kathy Garrison at 360.7427. Tickets are $30 per person and include dinner, the ceremony, and dancing. Business attire is suggested.

Mount St. Scholastica College, which joined with St. Benedict’s College in 1971 to form Benedictine College, established the Offeramus Medal in 1957 for alumnae who had distinguished themselves in their profession, showed a prominence of service to the civic community, demonstrated outstanding loyalty to the alma mater, and reflected honor on the college through family and social life. In 1960, St. Benedict’s established the corresponding Kansas Monk Award for its graduates.

BACKGROUNDERS:

S. Mary Irene Nowell, OSB

Nowell is a Benedictine Sister of Mount St. Scholastica Monastery in Atchison, Kan., where she is the director for the sisters in temporary profession. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in music from Mount St. Scholastica College, a Master's degree in German from Catholic University of America, a Master’s degree in theology from St. John’s University, and a Doctorate in Biblical studies from Catholic University.

She has been a teacher throughout her religious life. She is currently an adjunct professor of St. John's University School of Theology, teaching Scripture both in the classroom and on the web, and is a noted biblical scholar and leading authority on the Psalms.

She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Benedictine College and is a past president of the Catholic Biblical Association. She has written several books, Sing a New Song: The Responsorial Psalm in the Sunday Liturgy, Women in the Old Testament, and Numbers, all published by Liturgical Press, and 101 Questions and Answers on Angels and Devils, published by Paulist Press.

Nowell is on the editorial board of The Bible Today and Worship and writes regularly for other biblical and liturgical periodicals. She is also a member of the Committee on Illuminations and Texts for the Saint John’s Bible.

Dr. Michael J. Murray

Murray graduated from Benedictine College with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and went to medical school at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He served his internship and residency at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., and eventually rose to be the dean of the Mayo School of Health Sciences. He currently serves as professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic Hospital Arizona in Phoenix.

He served as a colonel in the Medical Corp of the U.S. Army Reserve and is the U.S. Army Reserve Anesthesia Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Army. He has received the Meritorious Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Global War on Terror Medal, and two National Defense Service Medals.

Murray has written extensively in medical journals and has given more than 600 lectures, including 75 overseas. He has earned the Distinguished Clinician Award from the Mayo Clinic’s Department of Anesthesiology, the Edward Henderson Leadership Award from the Zumbro Valley Medical Society, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists, and was named Teacher of the Year by the Department of Anesthesia, Mayo Clinic Arizona.

He has served in volunteer and leadership positions at many non-profit organizations across the country. He served on the board of directors of Benedictine College from 1989 to 1998. He has been an assistant scout master for the Boy Scouts of America and was a pack committee chairman for the Cub Scouts. He has been a lector, a choir member, or a church leader at his local parish wherever he has been located. He has volunteered his time with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Catholic Charities, and Young Life. He and his wife, Catherine, served as foster parents for an orphan from Viet Nam and while they lived in Florida, he donated one day each month to work at a free medical clinic.

He and his wife currently live in Phoenix. They have four grown children.

Benedictine College
Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college located on the bluffs above the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas. The school is proud to have been consistently named one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report. It has also been named a Leader in Educational Excellence by Colleges of Distinction as well as one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by The Newman Guide and First Things magazine. Benedictine prides itself on outstanding academics, extraordinary faith life, strong athletic programs, and an exceptional sense of community and belonging. It has a mission to educate men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.
###