Three students smile and chat as they walk down the hallway past the Dougherty Family College sign in the student commons. The two-year college opened in 2017 to help students earn an associate degree and move on to a bachelor’s degree. (Jaydin Fairbanks/The Crest) 
The entrance to Terrence Murphy Hall on the University of St. Thomas’ Minneapolis campus, home to Dougherty Family College. (Jaydin Fairbanks/The Crest) 
Dozens of handwritten signatures surround a mural in the DFC. (Jaydin Fairbanks/The Crest) 
DFC Dean Buffy Smith types at her desk. (Jaydin Fairbanks/The Crest) 
Inside Smith’s office, where a “Welcome” sign and a stack of St. Thomas business cards greet visitors. (Jaydin Fairbanks/The Crest)
Dougherty Family College is a two-year associate degree program headquartered at the University of St. Thomas’s Minneapolis Campus, designed as a stepping stone to help low-income students eventually enroll in a four-year college.
To help ease the transition from high school to college, DFC students are put into cohorts of about 20 students and attend classes together throughout their time in the program. The college provides resources like textbooks, laptops, meals and transportation that are normally an additional expense at four-year universities, making DFC more accessible for low-income students. After completing their time at DFC, students have the option to then transfer to a bachelor’s program at St. Thomas or elsewhere.
DFC follows in the footsteps of Loyola University Chicago’s Arrupe College as the second college in the country to participate in the Come To Believe Network. The nonprofit network helps create two-year colleges within four-year universities for low-income students. Former St. Thomas president Julie Sullivan called on DFC founding benefactors Mike and Kathy Dougherty to help finance and establish the mission for the college.
DFC Dean Buffy Smith joined St. Thomas in 2004 and has been with the program since its creation in 2016, working to find funding and establish partnerships that will provide opportunities for students.
“I think I have the best job in the world because my role as the dean of Dougherty Family College is really to praise our faculty and staff with the amazing work they do and then uplift our scholars,” Smith said.
First-year student Uriel Gutierrez Segovia described the Dougherty Family College as a “very warm environment.”
“It feels more like a tight-knit community, and making connections was so much easier,” Gutierrez Segovia said.
When deciding what college was right for him after high school, Gutierrez Segovia toured and loved St. Thomas but said he was discouraged by the cost. After researching more about the university, he found that enrolling in DFC would allow him to have the same amenities and experiences as a St. Thomas student but at a lower price point and with more support.
Gutierrez Segovia said the benefits range from strong faculty relationships with students to scholarships that support school transitions.
“I felt like I belonged there because of that diversity aspect, and there were a whole bunch of people that were like me: first-generation college students,” Gutierrez Segovia said.
DFC’s website states that 96% of its students are people of color and 71% are first-generation students. Gutierrez Segovia said he hopes the relationships he has made at DFC will last beyond college and said that his professors “feel as though they’re family members because they truly want you to succeed. You can see how passionate they are at teaching.”
At DFC, pell-eligible students pay an average of $2,506 annually, while averages for Minnesota community colleges’ tuition and fees are around $5,573 annually before financial aid, according to Community College Review.
Some students who continue their studies at St. Thomas after graduating from DFC are awarded the Dougherty Family College Excellence Scholarship, which covers full tuition and is eligible for up to three years.
All DFC students graduate with an associate degree in liberal arts with the ability to attend another university to complete a bachelor’s degree.
First-year Isaac Garcia transferred to St. Thomas after graduating from DFC, attributing the smooth transition to DFC’s preparation. Garcia said he had “always hoped” to go to St. Thomas. At the low price point afforded by DFC, Garcia said he could still be a Tommie, go to every sporting event that he loves and achieve his “lifetime dream.”
“They really try to make sure we know that we’re college students and we’re welcome (on the St. Paul Campus),” Garcia said.
Garcia said that at DFC, “they’re supportive beyond just what school is. I have a lot of extracurricular activities outside of school, and not only the students but teachers and Dean Buffy have just been so supportive of me and my dreams going forward.”
Smith said her motivation all goes back to the students.
“The hope I see in their eyes and just (knowing) what change they’re going to make in our world for the better. It pushes and motivates me to do better because they’re worth it,” Smith said.
Brooke Tape can be reached at tape2754@stthomas.edu.
Jaydin Fairbanks can be reached at fair7610@stthomas.edu.
