Sister Joan installed as president at St. Ambrose
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By Thomas Geyer | Saturday, October 06, 2007 |
Sister Joan M. Lescinski talks with outgoing president Ed Rogalski before becoming the 13th and first female president at St. Ambrose University during inauguration ceremonies Friday at the Galvin Fine Arts Center. (John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo
It is homecoming weekend at St. Ambrose University.
It also is a weekend of great change.
The university installed Sister Joan Lescinski, of Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, as its 13th and first female president Friday.
In an invitation-only ceremony filled with the requisite pomp and circumstance and attended by local, state and national dignitaries as well as the university’s faculty and staff, Lescinski was greeted and then presented with the trappings of her office, as well as the responsibilities that go with it.
She even was presented with a Papal Blessing from Pope Benedict XVI.
For two months, faculty, staff, students and community leaders have been meeting Sister Joan. And without exception, they say she is the perfect person to succeed Ed Rogalski, who for two decades led the university to new heights.
“She’s been impressive to everyone,” said The Rev. William “Digger” Dawson, who began teaching at St. Ambrose in 1965.
“She’s full of life, she has a strong scholastic record, she has an excellent monetary record, and she brings a feminine touch which we’ve never had before,” he said. “And everywhere she’s been, she has taught.”
Philosophy professor Paul Jacobson said she has all the skills. “She’s very impressive,” he said. “She’s very energetic, very intelligent and has a can-do spirit.”
East Moline Mayor John Thodos, who graduated from St. Ambrose in 1985, said he first met Sister Joan during the Muslim observance of Ramadan at the Islamic Center in Moline.
Thodos said that to see her involved like that is impressive. “She’s genuinely interested, not just in the college, but in the community,” he said. “She certainly has that nun presence. You stand up and pay attention right away.”
For Clare Thompson, St. Ambrose’s alumni relations director, the weekend could not have begun any better.
“She’s just a dynamo,” Thompson said. “It’s appropriate that our 13th president be installed at homecoming. It’s the most historical thing to happen on campus in a long time. The whole Ambrose spirit is alive.
“The entire campus is buzzing, no pun intended,” she added, making an unintended reference to the Ambrose Bees.
The day began with a 10 a.m. inauguration liturgy at Christ the King Chapel. At 2 p.m., the installation service was held at the Galvin Fine Arts Center.
James Collins, of the St. Ambrose University Board of Directors, told the crowd of about 1,000 that the search for a successor to longtime President Ed Rogalski was a “lengthy, deliberative process.”
Larry Busch, president of the staff assembly, told the crowd that the school is “embarking on change.”
While some are afraid of change, others embrace it, he said.
“It can be an end of an era, or a fresh start,” he said.
Lescinski acknowledged that she takes over a school that has had tremendous growth over the last decade, due in large part to Rogalski.
“I also owe a deep debt of gratitude to the person who occupied this office before me for the remarkable span of 20 years,” she told the crowd. “During his tenure as president, St. Ambrose grew in nearly every way possible—academic programs and resources; faculty, staff and students; and physical growth of more than $67 million dollars. In short, I have inherited from Dr. Edward Rogalski a university that is strong and healthy.”
She called on all to increase their awareness of and contributions to the global community and to expand the school’s tradition of volunteerism.
“Most of all, in this, as in all our ideals, we must challenge ourselves to seek out more ways for the Catholic intellectual tradition, with its emphasis on peace, justice and the dignity of every individual, to pervade every fiber of our university life,” Lescinski said. “And the best way to fulfill this very challenging vocation, which has in fact chosen us, is to open Ambrose and ourselves up to the world. Only with open hearts and open minds will we have hope of opening the hearts and minds of others.”
At a reception held at the Rogalski Center, Lescinski said that among her first tasks is managing the growth that has occurred over the last 10 years, which has resulted in a shortage of student living space, parking and classroom space.
“We’re making systematic plans about what to do first and what to do second, not just in terms of bricks and mortar but in program growth as well,” she said.
For the woman who has been described as a quiet tornado, all who have dealt with her so far agree that the challenges she faces as president of St. Ambrose will not be seen as obstacles, but as opportunities for positive change, growth of the school and the spreading of its mission.
Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com.
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