Xavier University of Louisiana is deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of its most exceptional professors and a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament, Sr. Donna Gould, SBS. For over two decades, Sr. Donna was a dedicated servant to the Xavier community, specifically within the Department of English, where she served as an assistant professor before retiring in December of 2022.

Sr. Donna was from Los Angeles, California. As a young woman and member of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (SBS), she attended Xavier University of Louisiana for her undergraduate degree in English. She was then sent by the SBS to teach at the St. Catherine Indian School in Sante Fe, New Mexico. She later attended the University of Notre Dame for her master’s degree and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, where she received her doctorate in American literature, folklore, and cultural studies. Her dissertation focused on women’s roles and conditions, themes that would be present throughout the courses she would go on to teach upon returning to Xavier.

“To call what Sr. Donna does for her students just teaching is too simple a term to fully and accurately encompass her passion, patience, and sincerity for the content that she introduces in each lecture,” said one of Sr. Donna’s former students in a short video highlight of Sr. Gould.

Dr. Biljana Obradovic, a professor of English at Xavier who worked alongside Sr. Donna, shared an anecdote of how the long-time Xavier figure’s generosity impacted all those around her: after hearing Dr. Obradovic mention in passing items that she needed - a baby gate for her son and window mesh to allow for open windows without being eaten by mosquitoes - Sr. Donna found a way to help her fellow faculty member and kindly gave her the supplies she needed.

“Sr. Donna was always so generous; even though she didn’t have a lot, she wanted always to help others,” said Dr. Obradovic. “I will never forget her kindness and generosity and will miss her.”

Sr. Donna’s time in Santa Fe, New Mexico, greatly influenced her life and its impact was often reflected in her teaching. Inspired by the diverse cultures she observed, her English and folklore classes always included writings and literature from Native Americans and people of color. She would even bring Xavier students to Santa Fe for a seminar so they could learn and be immersed in a culture with which they were not familiar.

Sr. Donna’s passion and love of literature are reflected in many aspects of her life. She served as a program chair for a South-Central Christianity and Literature symposium based in Taos, New Mexico. She edited and contributed to “Landscape & Epiphany,” a volume of essays produced at a symposium in Santa Fe. Sr. Donna also contributed to the research that enabled Leo Luke Marcello to publish “Blackrobe’s Love Letters,” which was based on correspondence by Xavier University of Louisiana’s foundress, St. Katharine Drexel. Both publications were distributed by Xavier Review Press. Xavier Review Press is the university's nonprofit book publishing press that publishes books throughout the year, along with the university’s professional literary journal, the “Xavier Review.”

“Her courses were always student-oriented,” said Dr. Thomas Bonner, Professor Emeritus of English at Xavier, who also taught Sr. Donna as an undergraduate. “Donna was a wonderful woman, dedicated to the mission of the Sisters of Blessed Sacrament and Xavier University of Louisiana. She will be remembered and missed by many.”

To view her memorial mass in the Saint Katharine Drexel Chapel at Xavier, click here.