Christendom College is pleased to announce that it has created a new Vice President of Finance and Special Outreach position and has also named a new Executive Vice President in charge of administration.
“Given Christendom’s steady growth, expected increase in activity relating to the projects funded by A Call to Greatness — our 40-million-dollar fundraising campaign — and continual efforts to grow and improve the education and services provided to students, we feel that the time is right to enhance vital areas of the college administration,” says Christendom College president Dr. Timothy O’Donnell.
To that end, the college has created a new Vice President of Finance and Special Outreach position, and Ken Ferguson has agreed to serve in this new role.
Ken Ferguson.
“To best steward the college at this critical and exciting time, it is clear that dedicated financial management and a standing outreach function will help us maintain the high standards for which Christendom continually strives,” said Ferguson. “The college is growing with great plans for future enhancements to our campus and community and I am excited to serve the noble mission of our college in this way.”
As the Vice President of Finance and Special Outreach, Ferguson will oversee the financial management of the college, under the guidance of the President and Executive Vice President, as well as take on assignments involving a variety of areas including development and financial aspects of strategic planning, accreditation, and other timely initiatives the college is undertaking.
In addition to this exciting news, the college welcomes Mark Rohlena (’00) as its new Executive Vice President, effective May 1. Under the direction of the president, Rohlena will help manage all of the administrative and operational affairs of the College. He comes to Christendom after serving in a senior post with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as the Director of the Office of Domestic Social Development.
Mark Rohlena.
“Mark is a proven Catholic leader and is a highly effective administrator with a background in team-building, strategy, fundraising, and organizational policy development. This, along with his ethics and risk management background, will help keep Christendom at the cutting edge of best practices,” says O’Donnell. “Mark is an alumnus who was very active as a student and he and his family continue to support the College in many ways. We are very excited to have him join us.”
Rohlena double-majored in history and political science and economics at Christendom before earning his law degree in the inaugural class of the Ave Maria School of Law. He practiced law for nearly a decade for the large Colorado-based law firm of Holland and Hart, LLP, specializing in legal ethics and risk management, as well as litigation.
Feeling a strong call to serve the poor, Rohlena left his successful law career to become the President and CEO of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado. In that position, he oversaw the organization’s annual budget of $3 million and led its 50 employees, who assisted those in need in 10 counties of Colorado with the help of over 1,600 volunteers per month. Services included programs focused on spiritual and corporal works of mercy, adoption, post-abortion and family counseling, family immigration, and disaster relief work. The organization provided important leadership in assisting those affected by wildfires in Colorado. Rohlena has served on numerous educational, legal, and nonprofit boards, and is currently a member of the Christendom A Call to Greatness Campaign Committee and Alumni Association Advisory Council.
“I am deeply honored to be joining the men and women who serve the mission of the college,” says Rohlena. “My wife and I owe so much to what God brought into our lives during our time at Christendom, and we feel truly humbled to be called back to this incredible institution in this new role.”
Rohlena and his wife, Danielle (Dalley – ’01), live in Virginia with their six children.