LATROBE, PA – Saint Vincent College held a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, June 13, 2025, at 10:30 am to officially mark the start of construction on the new Rhodora and John Donahue Hall and Library Tower. Shovels were turned both at the future site of Donahue Hall, which is on the west side of campus, near the Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion, and next to Sauerkraut Tower, where an addition will be connected to the Tower as it’s renovated into the Library Tower.
Members of the Saint Vincent College community, including faculty and staff, students, Benedictines, and Board members; representatives from the Latrobe Industrial Development Association; representatives from the DSF Charitable Foundation; architects for the projects; local and state government officials; and members of the Donahue family attended the ceremony.
Dr. Jeffrie Mallory, C’06, G’13, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Saint Vincent College, welcomed those in attendance and thanked the various benefactors for the project for their support prior to introducing Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., C’87, S’91, president of Saint Vincent College, who spoke to the significance of the two projects.
“Today, we have the privilege to break ground on two buildings that advance the mission of Saint Vincent College and enhance the educational experience and opportunities for our students,” remarked Father Paul. “Rhodora and John Donahue Hall, a building for undergraduate and graduate nursing, is about to be the beginning.”
He continued, “The Library Tower, an adaptive reuse of the water tower that supplied the campus with water up until 1974, [is] also known as the historic Sauerkraut Tower, where the monks and nuns fermented their cabbage for decades. In that space, we will have three stories for special collections of art, art history, architecture, theology, philosophy; study areas; and displays for our history.”
Father Paul also expressed gratitude to Ann and J. Christopher Donahue, primary donors for Donahue Hall, which is named after Donahue’s parents.
Arthur J. Rooney II, chair of the Saint Vincent College Board of Directors and president and owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team, and Donahue, chairman of Federated Hermes Inc. and former chair of the Saint Vincent Board of Directors, also gave remarks. Archabbot Martin de Porres Bartel, O.S.B., S'85, chancellor of Saint Vincent College, followed with words of thanks and a blessing before the turning of the shovels.
Those turning the shovels at the Donahue site were Archabbot Martin; Father Paul; the Donahues; Rooney; Kim Colonna, C’94, Board member; Megan Collins, C’93, DSF senior program officer; Bob Pusateri, C’72, Board member; Dr. Tom Gessner, C’64, member of SVC’s Nursing Advisory Council; Dr. Helen Burns, assistant professor and Rev. Owen Roth, O.S.B., Inaugural Director of Nursing; Dr. Stephen Jodis, dean of the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing; Dottie Staffen, 39th district director; and Maribeth Donley, daughter of Rhodora and John Donahue.
Those turning the shovels at the Library Tower site were Archabbot Martin; Father Paul; Father Matthias Martinez, O.S.B., S’07, serials librarian/technical services librarian; Dr. Harry Null, C’65; Rooney; Colonna; Pusateri; and Staffen.
Donahue Hall will be a state-of-the-art facility that will house the College’s Department of Nursing, which encompasses the pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, the Direct Entry – Master of Science in Nursing program and the graduate-level Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program.
The Library Tower will transform the historic Sauerkraut Tower into a modern addition to the Dale P. Latimer Library, housing study spaces, book and archival storage, and a public gallery.
In addition to the groundbreaking ceremony, the College also hosted a beam-signing ceremony for the Dunlap Family Athletic and Recreation Center.
