Neumann University turned 60 this year. Our actual birthday is March 3, the day in 1965 when the Pennsylvania Department of Education signed the charter to establish Our Lady of Angels College.

We set aside some time each year in early March to celebrate our founding with activities during Charter Day. We did so again in 2025 — but with a difference. Our 60th anniversary celebration will last for an entire year.

Even more significant is the manner in which we will commemorate our six decades. The university community has pledged to provide 60,000 hours of service by March of 2026. The project is the epitome of our Franciscan tradition and honors one of our core RISES values.

To launch the service commitment, more than 200 students, faculty, staff and trustees filled the Len Schuler Court in the Mirenda Center to pack 30,000 meals for Kids Against Hunger. Similar activities will fill the university calendar over the next nine months to remind us all of a salient phrase in Neumann’s mission statement, that “knowledge is a gift to be used in the service of others.”

The yearlong dedication to service is also a recognition of our eternal gratitude for the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, who founded this university through prayer, hard work, and an unceasing commitment to lift up the voiceless and marginalized among us.

When the Sisters opened the doors of Our Lady of Angels College in September 1965, the total enrollment was 115 students, all members of the congregation. Today, as Neumann University, we educate more than 2,200 students and have an alumni family of more than 17,000.

It was an extraordinary act of faith that has had truly miraculous results.

To help us honor the Sisters and reach our goal of 60,000 hours of service, please visit www.neumann.edu/60k.

Dr. Chris Everett Domes
President