Angela Jerabek, a 1990 College of Saint Benedict graduate and executive director of the Building Assets, Reducing Risks Center, will deliver the College of Saint Benedict’s commencement address at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 17, in Clemens Field House on the CSB campus. She will address the 2025 graduating class of 352 undergraduate women and 14 nursing master’s and doctoral graduates.
Lydia Mattern, a graduating theology major from Fargo, North Dakota, was nominated by her peers to provide the CSB student commencement address.
At 3 p.m. that same day, Congregation of Holy Cross Father Bill Lies, a 1984 SJU graduate, the provincial superior of the U.S. Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross and a friend of Holy Cross Bishop Patrick Neary, will give the Saint John’s University commencement address in Saint John’s Abbey and University Church. He will address the 2025 graduating class of 337 undergraduate men and 26 School of Theology and Seminary graduates.
Canaan Cooper, a graduating biochemistry major from Nassau, The Bahamas, was nominated by his peers to provide the SJU student commencement address.
Jerabek, who received her bachelor’s degree from CSB in education, began her career as a licensed K-12 teacher and secondary school counselor. She developed the BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) Model more than 25 years ago which is used by over 350 schools throughout the U.S., serving 400,000 students. Every single school participating in BARR has reported improved student outcomes, from increased math and reading scores to decreased absenteeism and behavior incidences.
She has published five books and several op-eds and articles in various publications. Jerabek has been featured in USA Today, National Public Radio and CNBC.
In 2024, Jerabek was awarded the prestigious James Bryant Conant Award to celebrate outstanding commitment to public education. In 2021, she was selected as the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s National “Wisest Wonk,” a contest designed to generate conversation surrounding critical issues within education reform. In 2020, she was awarded the Donald McNeely Center Social Entrepreneur of the Year by CSB and SJU.
Father Lies received his bachelor’s degree from SJU in English with minors in French and philosophy, followed by a master’s degree of divinity from the University of Notre Dame and a doctorate in Latin American politics from the University of Pittsburgh. He professed final vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1993 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1994.
As provincial superior, Father Lies oversees the work and welfare of more than 400 priests, brothers and seminarians in the U.S. Province, which includes missions in Chile, Peru and Mexico.
Before becoming provincial superior, Father Lies was vice president for mission engagement and church affairs at Notre Dame. He formerly served as executive director of the Center for Social Concerns at Notre Dame and taught in the department of political science. In 2013, Father Lies received Catholic Charities U.S.A.’s “Keep the Dream Alive” award, which honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is a fellow of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies.