As Spalding University’s 11th president was inaugurated at the Cathedral of the Assumption Sept. 19, the love of Christ took center stage.
Invoking the motto of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, who founded Spalding University, Dr. Anne Kenworthy reflected on their legacy and the centrality of Christ’s love.
“At Spalding, we embrace the sisters’ motto, ‘Caritas Christi urget nos’ — the love of Christ impels us — the demand of love, the call of love,” she said during her presidential address.
“The love of a child will keep you awake with wonder and worry. The love of a parent will keep you coming home again and again. … But the love of Christ? The love of Christ will send you where the world needs you.”’
— Dr. Anne Kenworthy, 11th president of Spalding University
“What has love made you do?” she asked rhetorically. “The love of a child will keep you awake with wonder and worry. The love of a parent will keep you coming home again and again. … But the love of Christ? The love of Christ will send you where the world needs you.”
Christ’s love “will place your neighbors’ needs above your own. It will transform lives. The love of Christ impels us. And when you’re impelled, you don’t wait for an invitation, you move, you go, you serve. That’s the spirit of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, fiercely independent, fiercely faithful and true pioneers.”
She noted that Spalding has a reminder of this love on its historic seal, which depicts a pelican with three chicks.
The pelican, she said, “uplifts our commitment to selfless service and care.”
“It is said that the pelican pierced her own breast to feed her young with her blood during times of famine so that they could survive. This is a powerful symbol of the selfless love of Christ,” she said. “You can feel this love all across our campus. At Spalding, we love our students, each other and this community deeply.”
During her address, Kenworthy also acknowledged the leadership of Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre and Louisville Metro Mayor Craig Greenberg, offering her thanks for their welcome and partnership with Spalding. She thanked her mentors, family, friends and colleagues. And she acknowledged the De La Salle Christian Brothers, who helped shape her career in university administration, she said.
Other speakers at the inauguration included Kenworthy’s daughter, Brooke Kenworthy, colleagues and friends, who described her as a warm and grounded leader who also has a fun side, spontaneously drawing people into song and dance.
Kenworthy, who is Methodist, said soon after officially taking office in January of 2025 that she would embrace Spalding’s Catholic tradition, leaning into the roots of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
Kenworthy came to Spalding from Findlay University in Findlay, Ohio, where she was vice president of enrollment, marketing and strategic initiatives. She previously served in various roles at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn., including as associate vice president for donor relations, academic dean for adult and undergraduate programs and vice president of enrollment.
She also served as vice president of advancement and planning at the former Crichton College and contributed to teacher development at the University of Memphis.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in math and a doctoral degree in education from the University of Memphis. She also earned a master’s degree in business administration from Christian Brothers University and a fundraising management certificate from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Spalding, located on 24 acres in downtown Louisville, traces its roots to 1814, when Mother Catherine Spalding established Nazareth Academy in Bardstown, Ky. Today, about 1,600 students attend the liberal arts college.
After the ceremony, Archbishop Fabre, Mayor Greenberg and Dr. Kenworthy led a procession out of the Cathedral to the statue of Mother Catherine Spalding, who founded the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and for whom Spalding is named. They deposited white daisies at the foot of her statue.
