Saint Mary's Magazine Fall 2004 - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

NEWS AND VIEWS
SMU selects
executive director,
names board of
Saint Teresa
Institute
Saint Mary’s University has
announced that Barbara Vaughan
will serve as the executive director
of the new Saint Teresa Leadership
and Service Institute for Women.
Ten women also have been
named to serve as the institute’s
first board of
directors.
Brother
President
Louis
DeThomasis
said he is
“pleased that
this exciting
initiative for
Barbara Vaughan
Executive director
Saint Teresa Leadership
and Service Institute
for Women
women is
becoming a
reality under
the leadership
of
Barbara Vaughan and an excellent
board of directors.”
The Saint Teresa Institute,
which SMU announced last fall, will
prepare women to become effective,
service-oriented leaders. The
institute’s curriculum will be integrated
fully with that of Saint
Mary’s University. Institute students
will be able to pick any major in
the SMU catalog and will graduate
with Saint Mary’s University
degrees. The Saint Teresa Institute’s
programs and first students began
in fall 2004.
Vaughan brings almost 20
years of experience in organizational
development to the Saint Teresa
Institute. Most recently, she served
as director of external relations at
the National Institute of Health
Policy at the University of St.
Thomas in Minneapolis. Vaughan
attended the College of Saint Teresa
in her freshman year and then graduated
from the College of St.
Catherine in St. Paul, Minn., where
she served on the alumnae board.
She received her Master of Arts in
English from Iowa State University
in Ames, Iowa, where she also
taught English and composition.
Vaughan said she is passionate
about women’s education and
thrilled to be the founding director
of the Saint Teresa Institute. “I look
forward to developing programs
that will help women to become
dynamic leaders and powerful
agents of change in their professional,
civic, educational and spiritual
communities,” she said. “ I think it
is important that women have specific
training in leadership as well as
service experiences to empower
them to live effective, meaningful
lives.”
“We are excited about the possibilities
of the Saint Teresa
Institute,” said Colleen Kocer
Peplinski, CST ’87, executive director
of the Alumnae Association of
the College of Saint Teresa. “We see
it as another way to keep our
Teresan values and spirit alive.”
The College of Saint Teresa
ceased operations in 1989. The
campus is now owned and operated
by Saint Mary’s University and is
host to a variety of educational
enterprises.
A 10-person board will guide
the work of the institute.
Brother Louis’ selection from
Saint Mary’s University is Jane
Kelley Rodeheffer, Ph.D., director,
Lasallian Honors Program and professor
of philosophy.
The board of directors of the
Alumnae Association of the College
of Saint Teresa, which is partnering
with SMU on this initiative, selected
nine distinguished CST alumnae to
serve on the institute’s board. They
include:
■ Peggy Anderson, CST ’69,
English teacher, Totino-Grace
High School, Fridley, Minn.
■ Michelle Bailey, CST ’63,
retired social worker, Stillwater,
Minn.
■ Elizabeth Ford, CST ’75,
director of meetings, Scientific
Societies, St. Paul, Minn.
■ Sandy Maskell, CST ’84,
associate director, agency
development, Big Brothers Big
Sisters of America,
Philadelphia, Pa.
■ Mercedes McGowan, Ph.D.,
CST ’61, professor emerita,
mathematical sciences,
Brother Louis in
the Philippines
On March 19, Brother President
Louis DeThomasis, presented a paper
at De La Salle University, Manila,
Philippines, on International Debt
and the Preferential Option for the
Poor at an international research
conference on social responsibility
and human development. After his
presentation, the university
inaugurated an international award
in Brother Louis’ honor, called the
Faith and Finance Social Justice
Award. The award will be given
annually to distinguished business
leaders who act ethically and help
the poor through support of social
justice issues.
Later that day, Brother Louis
was received by former Philippines
President Corazon Aquino at her
residence. She and Brother Louis
discussed his work on ethics and
finance, and his presentation at
De La Salle. Aquino has dedicated
her life, post-presidency, to social
responsibility endeavors.
William Rainey Harper College,
Palatine, Ill.
■ Genevieve Jilk O’Grady, Ph.D.,
CST ’61, professor, English,
University of Wisconsin -
La Crosse, La Crosse, Wis.
■ Mary Dunn Siedow, Ed.D., CST
’64, national literacy expert
and consultant, Durham, N.C.
■ Marianne Texley, CST ’76,
administrator, Winona Area
Public Schools, Winona, Minn.
■ Terri Wintering, CST ’73,
attorney, Rochester, Minn.
For more information about the
Saint Teresa Leadership and Service
Institute for Women, contact
Vaughan at (507) 457-6651,
bvaughan@smumn.edu, or go
online to www.smumn.edu/
womenleaders.
WWW.SMUMN.EDU/MAGAZINE 5