Sister Mary Domitilla Thuener, OSB

First Dean and founding president of Villa Madonna College (1921-1929)

Sister Mary Domitilla Thuener, OSB, is remembered as a foundational figure in Thomas More University’s origin story. Her leadership helped shape Catholic higher education in Northern Kentucky and ensured Villa Madonna College’s growth into a fully accredited four-year institution by 1936, the institution that would eventually become Thomas More University.

Born on October 25, 1880, in Alleghany, Pennsylvania, Sister Mary Domitilla Thuener later moved to Cincinnati and attended St. Xavier College, where she earned her Bachelor’s of Arts. In 1923, she obtained her Master of Arts from Trinity College, specializing Mathematics, Education, Administration, and Catholic Higher Education. Nearly 10 years later, in 1932, Sister Thuener received her Ph.D. in Mathematics and Education from Catholic University. Her dissertation was titled, “On the Number and Reality of the Self-Symmetric Quadrilaterals In-and-Circumscribed to the Triangular-Symmetric Rational Quartic.”

Sister Thuener viewed higher education through the lens of Catholic tradition, which led her to become the first executive head and Dean of Villa Madonna College from 1921-1929. A year prior to her departure from Villa Madonna College, Sister Thuener joined Mother Walburg Saelinger, OSB, Mother Lucy Damidio, CDP, and Sister Anthony Honeck, SND to form the Diocesan Normal School. This organization focused on training teachers for Northern Kentucky’s religious communities. Years later, Sister Thuener would return to Villa Madonna College after receiving her Ph.D. to teach mathematics and physics. She served on the administrative board overseeing Villa Madonna College through the 1940s.

Sister Thuener’s legacy is marked on her commitment to academic standards – her work was foundational in bringing Villa Madonna College, now Thomas More University, where it is today. She filed the first application for senior college recognition in 1928–1929, earning Villa Madonna its initial Class B status with the University of Kentucky Accrediting Board. As Chairwoman for the Department in Mathematics, she guided curriculum development for teacher training programs.

Later in life, Sister Thuener would be Elected Prioress of St. Walburg Monastery in 1943. She passed away on September 29, 1977 in Covington, Kentucky.