Kathleen Feeley (born January 7, 1929) is a former president of the

College of Notre Dame of Maryland Notre Dame of Maryland University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Baltimore, Maryland. NDMU offers certificate, undergraduate, and graduate programs for women and men. History The Roman Catholic academic ...

Early life

Kathleen Feeley was born on January 7, 1929, in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, one of seven children. Feeley graduated from the Notre Dame Preparatory School and joined the

School Sisters of Notre Dame School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide religious institute of Roman Catholic sisters founded in Bavaria in 1833 and devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and mi ...

. She received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in English from the

in 1962. Feeley then received a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in English from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

in 1964 and a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in English from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

in 1970. She published her doctoral thesis at Rutgers in 1972, entitled ''Flannery O'Connor: Voice of the Peacock'', about the author

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often ...

who she saw speak at the College of Notre Dame. It would be published as a paperback in 1982.

Career

Early career

Feeley was a fellow at the Institute for the Study of Change at Claremont University Center (now Claremont Graduate University). She was an

American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher education ...

intern in 1970/1971.

College of Notre Dame

Feeley became president of the College of Notre Dame of Maryland on July 1, 1971. At the time, many Catholic colleges for women were merging with colleges for men or becoming coeducational. Feeley led the process to determine what the College of Notre Dame would do. Under Feeley's leadership, the college allowed part-time students and started the second Weekend College in the nation in 1975. In 1984, the college began to offer graduate degrees. In 1989, she founded the Renaissance Institute at the college. She served as president for 21 years and retired in 1992. In 1999, she returned to the College of Notre Dame as a professor of English.

Later career

In 1994, Feeley worked with the School Sisters of Notre Dame to raise money to renovate a building in Baltimore and found the Caroline Center, a religious institute focused on helping women with job readiness, skill training and support. In 1995, Feeley was appointed by Baltimore mayor

Kurt Schmoke Kurt Lidell Schmoke (born December 1, 1949) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 47th mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1987 to 1999, the first African American to be elected to the post. He is the current president of the University ...

to serve as Administrator for Special Education for

Baltimore City Public Schools Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS), also referred to as Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) or City Schools, is a public school district in the city of Baltimore, state of Maryland, United States. It serves the youth of Baltimore Cit ...

. A lawsuit had been filed against the city and her task was to bring the city in compliance with

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

law. She formed a unique city and state educational partnership that is considered as a model across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She remained in the role until 1997. Feeley also served as a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

professor of English at the University of Madras in India from 1992 to 1993 and the Fudan University in Shanghai,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

from 1998 to 1999. She was a visiting professor at the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamatio ...

from 1993 to 1994 and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County from 1997 to 1998. She was the first female professor at the Catholic University of Ghana in Sunyani, Ghana. She was professor there from 2003 to 2010. In May 2010, she was asked to serve as the interim president of the Institute of Notre Dame and left Ghana for Baltimore. She remained in that role until July 1, 2011, when Mary Funke was appointed.

Awards and legacy

* 2001, Maryland Women's Hall of Fame inductee * 2002, Lifetime Achievement Award, The Caroline Center * 2003, Maryland Top 100 Women, '' Daily Record'', Baltimore, Maryland * 2020, Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement, Marquis Who's Who In 1991, the College of Notre Dame named the ''Sister Kathleen Feeley International Center'' after Feeley. The center is a laboratory for language and culture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feeley, Kathleen 1929 births People from Baltimore Notre Dame of Maryland University alumni Villanova University alumni Rutgers University alumni Notre Dame of Maryland University Academic staff of the University of Madras Academic staff of Fudan University Academic staff of the Australian Catholic University University of Maryland, Baltimore County faculty Women heads of universities and colleges School Sisters of Notre Dame 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American educators Living people