Remarks from Marymount Alumnae Board President Patricia Cole's ('74) address during the awards ceremony at Fordham's Jubilee (June 4, 2011):

Good afternoon and welcome to all our Honorees, our beloved RSHM, faculty, fellow Board members, and Marymount and Fordham alumni, family and friends.

Sister Mary Heyser, Marymount Alumnae Chaplain, will now lead us in prayer … Thank you Sister Mary.

Thank you for joining us in celebration today of our Marymount family and our honored awardees. Groundbreaking … not only our second reunion at Rose Hill but our first induction of a faculty member as an honorary alumna. How incredibly fortunate we are to have these wonderfully inspiring women as role models in our lives to appreciate and to celebrate!

My fellow participants today include:

• Sr. Brigid Driscoll, President Emeritas Marymount College, who will introduce and lead the induction for Dr. Eileen Burchell
• Joyce Abamont, '66, former Alumnae Association President, who will present the Alumna of Achivement Award to Mary Begley Murphy
• Barbara Robinson White, '61, Board Member who will present the Golden Dome to Dr. Helene Tanous
• Dr. Maura Gaines, '58, who will present the Gloria Gaines Award to Rita Arno
• Kristine Welker, '88, Trustee and Former Chair of the ML, will provide us with a fund update

First please allow me to recognize the Alumnae Association Board (List below and also welcome to our new members) … Thank you for your loyalty to Marymount and for honoring our Legacy.

I am also delighted to say that we are making great headway in our commitment to value, enrich and strengthen our Marymount Fordham community partnerships.

And on that note I would like to extend particular thanks to Caitlin Tramel, Director of Alumni Relations, Brianne Laurin, Reunions and Homecoming Coordinator, and Justine Franklin, Director of Major Gifts, and all our friends at Fordham … and particularly for your generosity and assistance with yet another beautiful Jubilee!

In reflection: 2010-2011 was another academic year focused on setting significant milestones—We celebrated time-honored traditions at Founders Day. Shannon Tierney was our fourth and very exceptional Legacy Fund scholarship recipient with three Marymount Tarrytown family members as well as maternal and paternal family with advanced degrees from Fordham University.

And of course one of the most thrilling and recent milestones has involved the announcement by Father Joseph McShane and the Fordham University Board of Trustees regarding the renaming of the University Commons in Duane Library where we gather today as Butler Commons recognizing and memorializing the contributions of Mother Joseph Butler, RSHM, our Founder.

And now let us proceed with the Ceremony Awards, Induction and Legacy Fund report. Please remember all that it is your generosity today and going forward that allows us to keep the Legacy alive.

The women we honor today embody the spirit of leadership and change. These same attributes are those with which Mother Joseph Butler founded Marymount College, at a time when the education of women was not the social priority.

From December of 1907 with the opening of the school with only six students, until it closure in 2007, the RSHM, faculty and staff taught leadership, social responsibility and advocacy for change. As Alumnae, we have the responsibility and by virtue of our relationship with Fordham, the opportunity to continue this legacy.

This fall, the Marymount Alumnae Association will sponsor a Women's Leadership Conference to promote professional advancement and leadership development by showcasing female leaders in their fields in conjunction with the formal dedication ceremony for Mother Butler.

Planning is underway for this event, which will take place later this year and all of the former Marymount College Award recipients will be invited to participate. In addition the Board is currently seeking your thoughts of the names of distinguished female leaders (both alumnae and your contacts) who are role models in their industry and we ask you to send you recommendations.

Lastly on the schedule and in tradition, the Marymount Founder's Day and 5th Marymount Legacy Fund Scholarship Award Ceremony is scheduled to be held on Sunday, December 4.

We treasure our Legacy. We consider ourselves blessed to have been educated by the RSHM and all those members of the Marymount Faculty who taught us in Mother Butler's tradition—clear intention, compassionate heart and noble action … therefore let us continue to embrace the outstanding Fordham resources which provide us the opportunity to advance and to empower our entire community and potentially many many more women leaders.

… Lest we forget, Tua Luce Dirge!
Thank you.