Marylouise Fennell (1939–2022) was an American

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated: Sr.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and ...

, educator, and academic administrator. She was the president of

Carlow University Carlow University is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1929 by the Sisters of Mercy. The university's athletic teams are known as the Celtics, reflecting its Irish heritage. As of 2017 ...

from 1982 to 1989.

Early life and education

Fennell was born in 1939, in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

. She entered the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

of the Americas in 1957, following high school. She earned a bachelor's degree from the Diocesan Sisters College in 1961, a master's degree from the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

in 1972, and a Ph.D. in education from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in 1976. She held post-doctoral appointments at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

Career

Fennell was a clinical professor at the University of Hartford from 1971 to 1974, and a teaching fellow at Boston University from 1974 to 1976. She was on the faculty at the University of St. Joseph from 1976 until 1982 when she was the dean of the graduate school. She was named president of Carlow University in 1982, a position she held until 1989. After leaving Carlow University, Fennell moved into the private sector to work in public relations. Fennell was one of the founders of the Association of Private Universities of Central America, which works to expand private higher education in Central America. She also worked outside academia, and was appointed by Governor

Ella Grasso Ella Rosa Giovianna Oliva Grasso (née Tambussi; May 10, 1919 – February 5, 1981) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 83rd governor of Connecticut from January 8, 1975, to December 31, 1980, after r ...

to be vice chair of the first Connecticut State Election Commission, a role she held from 1978 to 1982. In 1999,

Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served in the Presidency of George W. Bush, George W. Bush administration as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003 and as the U ...

named Fennell a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania. Fennell died in 2022.

Honors and awards

Both Boston University (in 2002) and the University of Hartford (in 1998) recognized Fennell as distinguished alumni.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fennell, Marylouise 1939 births 2022 deaths Heads of universities and colleges in the United States University of Hartford alumni Boston University School of Education alumni Carlow University faculty 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns