Rita Knuesel, Ph. D., Provost at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, recently announced an award established in honor of S. Linda Kulzer, Professor Emerita of Education. She states: [S. Linda, is a] “… pioneer and risk-taker in the area of gender studies. She was the driving force in our colleges’ earliest efforts to integrate gender into our curriculum.”

S. Linda, in her role as Vice President for Academic Affairs, devoted necessary resources to the faculty interested in studying women’s ways of thinking and the contributions they have made to society. In her work, S. Linda invited a faculty group to a conference at Wheaton College called, “Towards a Balanced Curriculum: Integrating the Study of Women in the Liberal Arts.” Participants returned with a greater understanding of the role gender plays in the curriculum of higher learning and a determination to make changes to position the College of Saint Benedict on the cutting edge of such current pursuits. S. Linda continued to advocate for gender awareness in the curriculum throughout her career; that devotion and passion fueled the creation of the Sister Linda Kulzer Gender Education and Development Award. This honor will be given annually to a faculty member whose work has contributed significantly to the colleges’ gender education development.

The Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict are very proud of S. Linda and extend congratulations to her on this award established in her honor.