Anne Kenworthy (MBA ’02)

“When I was 23, I worked with the late Brother Edward Doody on writing grants to fund workshops for math teachers. When I walked into his office, which is where Marketing & Communications is now, the walls were covered in taped-up scraps of paper. Brother Edward had no intention of using a computer, so he typed his grant proposals and cut and pasted them together. He would tape the segments to the wall to figure out how to assemble the final draft and copy it. His methods seemed chaotic, but he was the best at getting grants funded. I was fortunate to work with one of the greats!”

When Dr. Anne Kenworthy worked with Brother Edward Doody at CBU, she was a recent graduate of the University of Memphis with a BS in Mathematical Sciences and was working as a teacher in the Memphis City Schools and as director of the Memphis Urban Mathematics Collaborative. When she earned her MBA at CBU a decade later, she was serving her first stint as a CBU administrator — first in the Office of Academics and then as Dean of the Evening Program (which later became the College of Adult Professional Studies) for three years.

Anne left CBU to take a position as manager of the Memphis Sexual Assault Resource Center and then served as Executive Director of Special Kids & Families, a program that served children with developmental delays due to Down syndrome, autism, premature birth, or cerebral palsy. She returned to higher education in 2005 to serve as Vice President for Advancement at Crichton College for three years and then served as Executive Director of the IRIS Orchestra for a year.

Anne returned to CBU in 2010 as Dean of Admissions was promoted to Vice President for Enrollment Management in 2012, and moved to the Office of Advancement in 2020 to serve as Associate Vice President for Donor Relations. She has also served on the adjunct faculty throughout her entire time at CBU. It was recently announced that Anne is relocating to Ohio to become Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at the University of Findlay in August 2022.

During her long career in education and community advocacy, Anne also continued her own education, earning a Master of Science in Educational Administration and a Doctor of Education in Higher and Adult Education from the University of Memphis.

In addition to her active involvement in the community throughout her career, Anne has also served on the advisory committees for Memphis World Relief and Tennessee Voices for Victims is a founding member of The Memphis Cup of Nations, and was a member of the recent search committee for the senior pastor at Christ United Methodist Church. In her enrollment positions at CBU, she was instrumental in establishing the University’s commitment to DREAMers and worked closely with TheDream.us and other donors to make certain that undocumented students were welcome and able to receive generous financial aid.

For her work in the community, Anne has been recognized with numerous awards, including Memphis Woman magazine’s “50 Women Who Make a Difference,” “Victim Advocate of the Year” by the Shelby County Mayor’s Office, and the “Heroism Award” from Women of Achievement.

Is there a lesson Anne has learned at CBU that has helped her in life?

Treat people with dignity and kindness, and everything else will fall into place.