Kathleen Sprows Cummings of South Bend Honored by University of Scranton

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The University of Scranton presented Frank J. O’Hara Awards to five alumni at Reunion 2013.

SCRANTON, PA (07/02/2013)(readMedia)-- Kathleen Sprows Cummings, Ph.D., of South Bend, Ind., was among the five individuals honored by The University of Scranton with the Frank J. O'Hara Award at its Reunion 2013 O'Hara Award Ceremony held in June on campus. Dr. Cummings, class of 1993, received the award religion and spirituality; Joseph P. Bannon, M.D., of Clarks Summit, class of 1983, received the award for medicine; Michael D. DeMichele, Ph.D., of Scranton, class of 1963, received the award for University service; James F. Duffy, S.J., M.D., of Washington, D.C., class of 1988, received the award for education; and Patrick W. Shea, Esq., of Wilton, Conn., and New York City, class of 1978, received the award for law.

Dr. Cummings is an associate professor of American studies and director of the William and Anna Jean Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame. As director, she leads research projects, seminars, conferences and publications with the nation's top scholars as they explore Catholicism's role in United States history. She is also leading a multi-year project researching the "Lived History of Vatican II" in 15 dioceses and on six continents.

Dr. Cummings is the author of two books: "New Women of the Old Faith: Gender and American Catholicism in the Progressive Era" and "Citizen Saints: Catholics and Canonization in American Culture." Her research for the books has taken her to Rome several times, where she worked in the Vatican Secret Archives and in other religious archives in the city. An expert on gender in Catholicism, Dr. Cummings is often a guest on CNN and NBC and is a source for articles in the New York Daily News, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and The Boston Globe. She often serves as a media commentator on contemporary events in the Church, including most recently on the papal transition.

Dr. Cummings graduated earned a bachelor's and master's degree from The University of Scranton and later earned a master's degree and Ph.D. from Notre Dame. She is a native of Aston, Pa.

The O'Hara Awards, named for a late administrator who faithfully served the University for 53 years, are the highest honor bestowed jointly by the University and its Alumni Board. The awards recognize Scranton graduates and others who have achieved distinction in their professional or personal endeavors.

07-01-13

Digital image:

The University of Scranton presented Frank J. O'Hara Awards to five alumni at Reunion 2013. At the award ceremony are, from left, Tom Grech '84, president of the University's Alumni Society, Patrick W. Shea Esq. '78, Michael D. DeMichele, Ph.D. '63 Joseph P. Bannon, M.D.'83, Kathleen Sprows Cummings, Ph.D. '93, and University of Scranton President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J. O'Hara Award recipient James F. Duffy, S.J., M.D. '88 is not pictured.