What's Happening

By Patrick Bittorf
Vice President for Development, Catholic Theological Union

July 29, 2024, Chicago – Sister Barbara Reid, OP, PhD, President of Catholic Theological Union (CTU), recently announced the appointment of Sister Donna Markham, OP, PhD, as the CTU Fellow in Catholic Leadership Toward Global Healing. 

Sister Donna retired last year as President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA after providing nine years of transformative leadership as the first woman to lead the organization. During her tenure, she spearheaded significant growth within the Catholic Charities network, expanding its reach to serve more than 15 million vulnerable individuals annually.

“We are thrilled that Sister Donna has accepted our invitation to become a CTU Fellow,” Sister Barbara stated. “As a woman religious and one who has devoted her life to personal and global healing, she embodies the kind of minister CTU aims to form for the Church and the world. Through seminars, Colloquia, teaching, writing, and public speaking, she will help mentor our students and will continue to inspire people of goodwill throughout the world.”

The appointment of Sister Donna as CTU Fellow follows her being honored by the school with its 2024 Blessed Are the Peacemakers Award for her active engagement in global peace initiatives and processes of reconciliation, as well as the suffering of vulnerable people in the United States, particularly refugees and the unhoused. 

Accepting the appointment, Sister Donna stated, “CTU plays a crucial role in the preparation of leaders for the future of our Church, and I am deeply honored to join this fine institution in its mission.”

As a CTU Fellow, Sister Donna continues her dedication to her life as an Adrian Dominican Sister and a licensed and board-certified clinical psychologist to the ministry of personal and global healing, helping foster personal and organizational change. Since receiving her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Detroit, she has been involved in executive leadership, organizational change management, teaching, and clinical practice.  

Sister Donna also served in leadership in the Adrian Dominican Congregation, first as a member of the General Council with Prioress Nadine Foley, OP, from 1986 to 1992. At the end of that term, she was elected President of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), an organization of the leaders of about 80 percent of the U.S. congregations of women religious. She served as Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Congregation from 2004 to 2010.

She was named a Fellow of the American Board of Professional Psychology and of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology and served as Honorary President of the Canadian Psychological Association. Sister Donna is the recipient of 14 honorary doctorates and, during her recent tenure leading Catholic Charities USA, was named each year as one of the top 50 nonprofit leaders in the United States by The Nonprofit Times.

Catholic Theological Union is a Roman Catholic graduate school of theology and ministry located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. Founded in 1968, following the Second Vatican Council, CTU prepares effective leaders for the Church, ready to witness to Christ’s good news of justice, love, and peace. More than 4,500 CTU alumni have ministered in 60 countries. CTU is sponsored by 24 men’s religious communities, with a global reputation for academic and pastoral excellence.