Commonweal executive director Ellen Koneck delivered the following closing remarks at the Commonweal Benefit Dinner on October 5, 2026, in New York City.
Hello! My name is Ellen Koneck, and I am the executive director of Commonweal. I’ll warn you now that my brief remarks are likely to fall short of adequately capturing what I hope to communicate, and they will definitely fall short of the high standard for inspiring words we’ve heard this evening already. And speaking of such inspiration, I want to add my thanks to the chorus for both Jack Brennan and Fr. John’s remarks – and for our fearless leader this evening, Dr. Meghan Sullivan.
Fr. John spoke of institutions—our genius for them—and I am struck by his observation that, almost as a byproduct of the purpose they aim to carry out, institutions often also create community around that purpose. I look around this room and see the evidence. What a gift that my brilliant colleagues can produce a monthly magazine brimming with complex ideas and excellent writing, and that around the country individuals can receive this magazine and feel connected to a community of readers likewise committed to rigor, charity, and a vision for the common good. …And then, (even better!) – sometimes those readers and friends from around the country arrive in Manhattan on a Monday evening and we truly experience the community we’ve long felt connected to! What a gift.
Commonweal is an institution that depends on an ecosystem of other organizations to pursue this vision of the common good. And since our very start—as you heard in Fr. John’s references to our early editors and their writing—we depend in a particular way on a reciprocal exchange of people, of ideas, and of values with institutions of higher ed. There are so many institutions of higher education in the room, and so many university partners with whom we have already begun partnerships, formally or informally, including, of course, the Franco Family Institute at the University of Notre Dame, as well as our friends and collaborators at Fordham, Sacred Heart, Fairfield, Georgetown, Loyola Chicago, Davidson, Santa Clara, Yale, and more.
This evening, I have the privilege of announcing that Tom and Allison Franco, co-chairs of tonight’s dinner, have created a significant endowment at Commonweal dedicated in part to establishing more and deeper relationships between Commonweal and college campuses around the country.
The Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. Initiative for Campus & Early Career Formation is named in honor of Fr. John’s lifelong commitment to higher education, civil discourse, and the cultivation of young people capable of moral reasoning and civic friendships. [Pause for applause]
We look forward to even greater investment in this work, following Fr. John’s model of forming and informing the next generation of young people. This fund will help us to provide free and subsidized subscriptions to our magazine and archives, offer writing workshops and public lectures, and expand our internship opportunities. At a time when institutional trust is low, I am thrilled that Commonweal will get to dig its heels into partnerships that remind people the genius of them. I invite you to consider joining us in this effort, and joining the Francos in giving to support this all-important work. Thank you.
