2016 Distinguished Service to the Norbertine Community

Judith A. Turba '76

Judy Turba’s service to the college and to the greater Catholic, Norbertine community is as remarkable for its variety as it is for its quality.

Her career has taken her from Abbot Pennings High School to Notre Dame Academy to St. Norbert College, and ultimately to St. Norbert Abbey itself.  She has distinguished herself at every stop.

At the high schools, Judy was an educator, an administrator, and a loving and caring counselor, roles she later continued at St. Norbert College. There, she worked in the counseling center, taught in the Freshman Seminar program and directed the PEER Educators program, guiding students in developing vitally important programming for their peers on difficult subjects like substance abuse and sexual assault.

Judy later became coordinator of the women’s center at the college, and later still, its director of alumni and parent relations. In every role, Judy brought not only a strong set of skills – exceptional interpersonal communication leading that list – but personal qualities marveled at by everyone who wrote in support of her nomination. They cited her sensitivity … compassion  … humor … commitment … inclusivity … grace … poise. One spoke of the feeling of joy he experienced whenever Judy welcomed his return to campus.

Nowhere were those qualities more in evidence than in the next phase of Judy’s career, when she assumed a variety of roles at St. Norbert Abbey. She serves as the highly skilled editor of the abbey magazine and the public relations coordinator for the abbey itself, in addition to her primary role within the Norbertine Center for Spirituality, initially as program coordinator and eventually director. Her impact has been profound: Under her leadership, the number of programs offered by the center blossomed from 18 to more than 200 individual programs and retreats. More than 10,000 visitors now come to the center each year. There, they are greeted with warmth and love by Judy and her staff, and invited to engage in programs dedicated to mind, body and spirit – many led by Judy herself.

Not surprisingly, Judy’s good works extend beyond the professional realm. She has served on the boards of Notre Dame Academy, the YWCA, Heritage Hill and St. Mary’s Hospital’s “A Woman’s Place,” and has visited Zambia twice, giving generously of her time and energy to the Friends of Zambia Project, working to meet the educational needs of Zambia’s poorest of the poor children.

Catholic education and Norbertine outreach in the Green Bay area owe Judy Turba a great debt. St. Norbert College, itself a blessed beneficiary of Judy’s work, gratefully bestows on her the Distinguished Service to the Norbertine Community Award.