KANSAS CITY, Kan.
Donnelly College is blessed with a gift. Despite
repeated monetary incentives to move from its poor, inner-city
environment, it has remained in a single nine-story brick building – an
old hospital gutted and rebuilt into a place of learning.
For nearly half a century, the college has held fast to its gracious
social and academic mission – giving inner-city students a second
chance.
Some suggest the private, Catholic-sponsored school is a rare gem in
this struggling blue-collar city – and in a county where nearly 40
percent of adults lack high school diplomas and countless more fail in
their first attempt at higher education.
“We provide second chances,” beams Donnelly’s president, Dr. John P.
Murry, 63. “I think a lot of people in academics might laugh at us,
call us ‘Second Chance U.’ That’s fine. I take it as a compliment.”
Since 1949, when it was founded by Benedictine sisters, Donnelly’s
mission has remained constant: Give inner-city students – at least half
of whom are living in poverty – a two-year college education and the
promise of much more. Students, many of whom have dropped out of col-
lege before, pay tuition when they can. But Donnelly makes an
irresistible offer to those who can’t: The school pays most, if not
all, tuition if the student simply shows up to class.
A Smart Investment
