The McNulty Institute marked its fifth anniversary this past October and will be hosting a celebration on Nov. 16 in the Topper Theatre from 5:30 to 9 p.m. 

The celebration will include the institute’s first Legacies of Leadership Conversation featuring Michaela Walsh, Neeti Dewan ’13 and Anne Welsh McNulty ’75. It also announced the Michaela Walsh Collection. Anne Welsh McNulty ’75 is the philanthropist, benefactor and namesake for the McNulty Institute. 

McNulty graduated from Villanova in the same class as University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A, Ph.D, during times when the school first transitioned to being co-educational. She was the editor of The Villanovan and wrote an op-ed on why Will D. Cat as a girl, Wild-Kitten, was unnecessary for representing women and being gender inclusive, the start of her career as a trailblazer. McNulty soon received her MBA from Wharton and worked for Goldman Sachs for many years. She has been grateful for her roots at Villanova and helped create this institute with Terri Boyer, Ed.D., ‘95, the institute’s founding director, and Danielle Ross M.A., Associate Director. 

“This organization is a gender equity organization,” Boyer said. “We are here to better everyone.” 

The institute also has a committee specifically focused on intersectional racial and cultural issues. 

“A lot of what the institute does is through collaborative partnerships,” Boyer said.  

Celebrating Women’s Entrepreneurship Week and the 50th anniversary of Title IX with Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman were some of the highlights that Ross mentioned the Institute hosted in just one week. 

The organization also actively works to amplify the voices of people of color and seeks to make real change in communities. 

“We are intentional of the opportunities we offer to be inclusive,” Boyer said. “We actively recruit from different communities of women and non-binary individuals for our student ambassador’s program. We want every voice to be represented […] We focus on gender equity in the scholarships we fund, for example, a scholarship for black women’s representation in electoral politics.” 

Boyer and Ross are both conscious that they are white women, and they are intentional in inclusiveness to make sure everyone is heard at the Institute. The Institute sees where the University can improve in uplifting underrepresented voices, especially on a predominantly white campus, and works towards creating communities that foster as much for intersectional identities.

If there is interest in joining or supporting the McNulty Institute, there are many opportunities to do so. The student ambassador’s program is a great way for students to directly work and learn with the Institute. Students can also submit personal experiences of leadership in their lives through the Women’s Leadership Diaries.