In Memoriam
S. Jean Patrice Harrington
S. Jean Patrice Harrington died July 1, 2017, at the age of 94 in Mother Margaret Hall. S. Jean Patrice was born Patricia Jean Harrington on July 15, 1922, to Irish parents James M. and Katherine (Holland) Harrington in Denver, Colorado. She was an only child who credits her parents for her deep faith and confidence to take risks to serve and advocate for children. S. Jean Patrice was a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati for 76 years.
S. Jean Patrice was raised in Denver and attended St. Dominic grade school and graduated from Cathedral High School in 1940. She was taught by the Sisters of Charity at Cathedral and chose to enter the congregation in the fall of 1940. It was the Sisters’ willingness to serve, their free spirit and friendliness that attracted her to the congregation. Thus began a lifetime of service as a determined leader, committed religious woman and a premiere, innovative educator.
S. Jean Patrice earned the Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati, in 1953; she received a master’s in education from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, in 1957 and a Ph.D. in administration from the University of Colorado in 1967. She did additional academic work at St. Louis University, University of Notre Dame and Seattle University.
S. Jean Patrice’s ministries brought her to educational settings over a 23-year period, all in Colorado, beginning at Holy Trinity, Trinidad (1942-’45, 1953-’55). This was followed by Loyola, Denver (1945-’53); St. Rose, Denver (1955-’57); Cathedral High School, Denver (1957-’65); additionally she served as principal at Cathedral from 1959-’65. She earned her Ph.D. in 1967, served as director of institutional research at the College of Mount St. Joseph until 1969 and then directed El Pomar Retreat House, Colorado Springs. She also was elected to leadership in the SC congregation in 1969 and began eight years of Governing Board service. More new opportunities and directions were coming into focus.
S. Jean Patrice was elected president of the College of Mount St. Joseph (now Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati) in 1977, a challenge she welcomed, ministering there until 1987. She advanced the mission of the college to serve a broadened audience of students, putting the Mount on a new course and establishing financial solvency for the institution. She developed mentoring partnerships between the community and at-risk high school students. Under her presidency, the Mount extended its liberal arts, career-oriented mission to women and men of all ages, mothers returning to college after raising their families, and minority and low-income students. She expanded the college’s reach to serve the needs of the community by starting the first weekend college program for adults in Cincinnati. She put in place a program called Project EXCEL, which today continues to provide educational and emotional support for students with learning disabilities to succeed in college. Her response was to develop a high school mentoring program and summer residency experience for Cincinnati-area African-American students called Project SCOPE, which also continues today. She came to be accurately recognized as a role model for women serving on business and civic boards.
Under her leadership S. Jean Patrice met with government officials and educators in seven Asian countries to discuss international education and student exchange opportunities; she was awarded the highest honor given by Sangmyung Women’s University in Korea for contributions made to further women’s education. She is widely credited with building the Mount’s institutional visibility, partnering with the broader business community and almost doubling the enrollment at the end of her 10-year tenure.
In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, S. Jean Patrice offered her services on a broad variety of boards in the area, serving as trustee for the Family Service Foundation, Star Bank (first woman), University of Dayton, Dress for Success, Cincinnati Bell, St. Rita School for the Deaf, Good Samaritan Hospital and Foundation, Robert and Ruth Conway Foundation, The Springer School, Community Chest, College of Mount St. Joseph, Literacy Network, Roger Bacon High School, St. Ursula Villa, Miami University and the Foundation, Cincinnati Choral Society, and Dan Beard Council Boy Scouts of America. She also served as co-founder and executive director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative; she offered her assistance to the Hamilton County Child Abuse Task Force, Junior League, Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, Racism Summit Steering Committee, Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Education Committee, and Cincinnati Archdiocese Commission on Education.
During the 1990s and 2000s, S. Jean Patrice received awards from Children’s Advocate, Beech Acres, Ohioana Library Association, Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, Children’s Defense Fund, Greater Cincinnati Chapter of Public Relations Society of America, ProKids Child Advocacy, Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, Friars Club, and Cincinnati Union Bethel. She was honored by having the new student center at the College of Mount St. Joseph named after her at its dedication in 1998.
S. Jean Patrice was awarded honorary degrees from eight institutions of higher learning, including Xavier University, Hebrew Union College, Ohio Dominican, St. Thomas Institute, and Northern Kentucky University. She was most proud when she was able to make a difference for kids, young or older; she looked to open doors for them, particularly in education and improved living situations.
When asked about highlights of her life, S. Jean Patrice stated, “Receiving a fellowship to the University of Colorado, dancing with the Denver Grand Opera Company and a trip to South America to represent the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in the Inter-American Conference of Religious on Social Justice, while also visiting our Sisters in Peru and Ecuador stand out for me. Relationships have blessed my life throughout. The assurance of my Sister friends’ loyalty and support in joyful and difficult times has been one of my life’s greatest joys.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sister Jean Patrice Harrington, S.C., beloved member of the Sisters of Charity. Departed Saturday, July 1, 2017 at the age of 94. The Sisters of Charity will receive guests in the Chapel of the Motherhouse at Mount Saint Joseph on Friday, July 7, 2017 from 2 pm until Mass of Christian Burial in the Motherhouse Chapel at 3 pm. Burial will follow in the Motherhouse Cemetery. Memorials to the Sisters of Charity Retirement Fund, 5900 Delhi Road, Mount Saint Joseph, OH 45051 or Mount St. Joseph University, 5701 Delhi Road, Cincinnati, OH 45233. Condolences may be expressed at: GilliganFuneralHomes.com.
Published in The Cincinnati Enquirer from July 5 to July 6, 2017
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Memory Monday
By S. Judith Metz
In 1989, the late S. Jean Patrice Harrington received the honorary doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph.
Among the many honorary degrees, plaques, certificates and other awards recognizing the late S. Jean Patrice Harrington, the 1989 honorary doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph, was her most cherished recognition. Received just two years after her retirement as president of the institution, nothing could be more fitting to acknowledge and celebrate her contribution as a “determined leader, woman of deep faith and premier innovative educator.”
Born in Denver, Colorado, and educated by the Sisters of Charity at Cathedral High School, Patricia Jean Harrington then received a scholarship to the College of Mount St. Joseph but instead entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1940. She spent her early years teaching at schools in Trinidad, Pueblo, and Denver before earning a Ph.D. in university administration from the University of Colorado in 1967. Although recruited by several universities and colleges for administrative positions, S. Jean Patrice spent the next 10 years serving in Sister of Charity community administrative roles.
When named president of the College of Mount St. Joseph in 1977, this experienced educator and administrator faced significant financial and educational challenges. According to the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, she “led one of the biggest comebacks in the community in recent memory, bringing the College of Mount St. Joseph back from educational and financial obscurity.”
When she took over its leadership, the college was $1.2 million in debt and enrollment was falling. When she retired 10 years later the budget was balanced, fundraising targets were being surpassed, and enrollment had nearly doubled. S. Jean Patrice built the institution’s visibility by partnering with the business community. She integrated the college’s liberal arts mission with its career-based education. She extended the Mount’s enrollment to include women and men of all ages, including minorities and low-income students. Under her leadership, the Mount started the first weekend college for adults in Cincinnati, Project EXCEL for students with learning disabilities, and Project SCOPE, a high school mentoring program and summer residency program for Cincinnati-area African-American students.
S. Jean Patrice Harrington
When reflecting on these accomplishments, S. Jean Patrice commented: “I got a lot of credit for what people said I did, but I have to honestly say it was because I was surrounded by a faculty who was willing and ready for change, by loyal lay people who went to the city and made the college known, solicited funds, and at the end of one year we were able to balance the budget…. I could never say enough about the good people who surrounded me and made me look good.”
After her retirement, S. Jean Patrice was appointed director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, served on numerous boards, and contributed her time and talents to many local organizations. In all this, she never forgot the Mount, serving on its board and initiating the foundation of a college archives to preserve forever the history of her alma mater. doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph.
S. Jean Patrice Harrington
S. Jean Patrice Harrington died July 1, 2017, at the age of 94 in Mother Margaret Hall. S. Jean Patrice was born Patricia Jean Harrington on July 15, 1922, to Irish parents James M. and Katherine (Holland) Harrington in Denver, Colorado. She was an only child who credits her parents for her deep faith and confidence to take risks to serve and advocate for children. S. Jean Patrice was a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati for 76 years.
S. Jean Patrice was raised in Denver and attended St. Dominic grade school and graduated from Cathedral High School in 1940. She was taught by the Sisters of Charity at Cathedral and chose to enter the congregation in the fall of 1940. It was the Sisters’ willingness to serve, their free spirit and friendliness that attracted her to the congregation. Thus began a lifetime of service as a determined leader, committed religious woman and a premiere, innovative educator.
S. Jean Patrice earned the Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati, in 1953; she received a master’s in education from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, in 1957 and a Ph.D. in administration from the University of Colorado in 1967. She did additional academic work at St. Louis University, University of Notre Dame and Seattle University.
S. Jean Patrice’s ministries brought her to educational settings over a 23-year period, all in Colorado, beginning at Holy Trinity, Trinidad (1942-’45, 1953-’55). This was followed by Loyola, Denver (1945-’53); St. Rose, Denver (1955-’57); Cathedral High School, Denver (1957-’65); additionally she served as principal at Cathedral from 1959-’65. She earned her Ph.D. in 1967, served as director of institutional research at the College of Mount St. Joseph until 1969 and then directed El Pomar Retreat House, Colorado Springs. She also was elected to leadership in the SC congregation in 1969 and began eight years of Governing Board service. More new opportunities and directions were coming into focus.
S. Jean Patrice was elected president of the College of Mount St. Joseph (now Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati) in 1977, a challenge she welcomed, ministering there until 1987. She advanced the mission of the college to serve a broadened audience of students, putting the Mount on a new course and establishing financial solvency for the institution. She developed mentoring partnerships between the community and at-risk high school students. Under her presidency, the Mount extended its liberal arts, career-oriented mission to women and men of all ages, mothers returning to college after raising their families, and minority and low-income students. She expanded the college’s reach to serve the needs of the community by starting the first weekend college program for adults in Cincinnati. She put in place a program called Project EXCEL, which today continues to provide educational and emotional support for students with learning disabilities to succeed in college. Her response was to develop a high school mentoring program and summer residency experience for Cincinnati-area African-American students called Project SCOPE, which also continues today. She came to be accurately recognized as a role model for women serving on business and civic boards.
Under her leadership S. Jean Patrice met with government officials and educators in seven Asian countries to discuss international education and student exchange opportunities; she was awarded the highest honor given by Sangmyung Women’s University in Korea for contributions made to further women’s education. She is widely credited with building the Mount’s institutional visibility, partnering with the broader business community and almost doubling the enrollment at the end of her 10-year tenure.
In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, S. Jean Patrice offered her services on a broad variety of boards in the area, serving as trustee for the Family Service Foundation, Star Bank (first woman), University of Dayton, Dress for Success, Cincinnati Bell, St. Rita School for the Deaf, Good Samaritan Hospital and Foundation, Robert and Ruth Conway Foundation, The Springer School, Community Chest, College of Mount St. Joseph, Literacy Network, Roger Bacon High School, St. Ursula Villa, Miami University and the Foundation, Cincinnati Choral Society, and Dan Beard Council Boy Scouts of America. She also served as co-founder and executive director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative; she offered her assistance to the Hamilton County Child Abuse Task Force, Junior League, Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, Racism Summit Steering Committee, Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Education Committee, and Cincinnati Archdiocese Commission on Education.
During the 1990s and 2000s, S. Jean Patrice received awards from Children’s Advocate, Beech Acres, Ohioana Library Association, Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, Children’s Defense Fund, Greater Cincinnati Chapter of Public Relations Society of America, ProKids Child Advocacy, Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, Friars Club, and Cincinnati Union Bethel. She was honored by having the new student center at the College of Mount St. Joseph named after her at its dedication in 1998.
S. Jean Patrice was awarded honorary degrees from eight institutions of higher learning, including Xavier University, Hebrew Union College, Ohio Dominican, St. Thomas Institute, and Northern Kentucky University. She was most proud when she was able to make a difference for kids, young or older; she looked to open doors for them, particularly in education and improved living situations.
When asked about highlights of her life, S. Jean Patrice stated, “Receiving a fellowship to the University of Colorado, dancing with the Denver Grand Opera Company and a trip to South America to represent the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in the Inter-American Conference of Religious on Social Justice, while also visiting our Sisters in Peru and Ecuador stand out for me. Relationships have blessed my life throughout. The assurance of my Sister friends’ loyalty and support in joyful and difficult times has been one of my life’s greatest joys.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sister Jean Patrice Harrington, S.C., beloved member of the Sisters of Charity. Departed Saturday, July 1, 2017 at the age of 94. The Sisters of Charity will receive guests in the Chapel of the Motherhouse at Mount Saint Joseph on Friday, July 7, 2017 from 2 pm until Mass of Christian Burial in the Motherhouse Chapel at 3 pm. Burial will follow in the Motherhouse Cemetery. Memorials to the Sisters of Charity Retirement Fund, 5900 Delhi Road, Mount Saint Joseph, OH 45051 or Mount St. Joseph University, 5701 Delhi Road, Cincinnati, OH 45233. Condolences may be expressed at: GilliganFuneralHomes.com.
Published in The Cincinnati Enquirer from July 5 to July 6, 2017
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Memory Monday
By S. Judith Metz
In 1989, the late S. Jean Patrice Harrington received the honorary doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph.
Among the many honorary degrees, plaques, certificates and other awards recognizing the late S. Jean Patrice Harrington, the 1989 honorary doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph, was her most cherished recognition. Received just two years after her retirement as president of the institution, nothing could be more fitting to acknowledge and celebrate her contribution as a “determined leader, woman of deep faith and premier innovative educator.”
Born in Denver, Colorado, and educated by the Sisters of Charity at Cathedral High School, Patricia Jean Harrington then received a scholarship to the College of Mount St. Joseph but instead entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1940. She spent her early years teaching at schools in Trinidad, Pueblo, and Denver before earning a Ph.D. in university administration from the University of Colorado in 1967. Although recruited by several universities and colleges for administrative positions, S. Jean Patrice spent the next 10 years serving in Sister of Charity community administrative roles.
When named president of the College of Mount St. Joseph in 1977, this experienced educator and administrator faced significant financial and educational challenges. According to the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, she “led one of the biggest comebacks in the community in recent memory, bringing the College of Mount St. Joseph back from educational and financial obscurity.”
When she took over its leadership, the college was $1.2 million in debt and enrollment was falling. When she retired 10 years later the budget was balanced, fundraising targets were being surpassed, and enrollment had nearly doubled. S. Jean Patrice built the institution’s visibility by partnering with the business community. She integrated the college’s liberal arts mission with its career-based education. She extended the Mount’s enrollment to include women and men of all ages, including minorities and low-income students. Under her leadership, the Mount started the first weekend college for adults in Cincinnati, Project EXCEL for students with learning disabilities, and Project SCOPE, a high school mentoring program and summer residency program for Cincinnati-area African-American students.
S. Jean Patrice Harrington
When reflecting on these accomplishments, S. Jean Patrice commented: “I got a lot of credit for what people said I did, but I have to honestly say it was because I was surrounded by a faculty who was willing and ready for change, by loyal lay people who went to the city and made the college known, solicited funds, and at the end of one year we were able to balance the budget…. I could never say enough about the good people who surrounded me and made me look good.”
After her retirement, S. Jean Patrice was appointed director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, served on numerous boards, and contributed her time and talents to many local organizations. In all this, she never forgot the Mount, serving on its board and initiating the foundation of a college archives to preserve forever the history of her alma mater. doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph.
In Memoriam
S. Jean Patrice Harrington
S. Jean Patrice Harrington died July 1, 2017, at the age of 94 in Mother Margaret Hall. S. Jean Patrice was born Patricia Jean Harrington on July 15, 1922, to Irish parents James M. and Katherine (Holland) Harrington in Denver, Colorado. She was an only child who credits her parents for her deep faith and confidence to take risks to serve and advocate for children. S. Jean Patrice was a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati for 76 years.
S. Jean Patrice was raised in Denver and attended St. Dominic grade school and graduated from Cathedral High School in 1940. She was taught by the Sisters of Charity at Cathedral and chose to enter the congregation in the fall of 1940. It was the Sisters’ willingness to serve, their free spirit and friendliness that attracted her to the congregation. Thus began a lifetime of service as a determined leader, committed religious woman and a premiere, innovative educator.
S. Jean Patrice earned the Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati, in 1953; she received a master’s in education from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, in 1957 and a Ph.D. in administration from the University of Colorado in 1967. She did additional academic work at St. Louis University, University of Notre Dame and Seattle University.
S. Jean Patrice’s ministries brought her to educational settings over a 23-year period, all in Colorado, beginning at Holy Trinity, Trinidad (1942-’45, 1953-’55). This was followed by Loyola, Denver (1945-’53); St. Rose, Denver (1955-’57); Cathedral High School, Denver (1957-’65); additionally she served as principal at Cathedral from 1959-’65. She earned her Ph.D. in 1967, served as director of institutional research at the College of Mount St. Joseph until 1969 and then directed El Pomar Retreat House, Colorado Springs. She also was elected to leadership in the SC congregation in 1969 and began eight years of Governing Board service. More new opportunities and directions were coming into focus.
S. Jean Patrice was elected president of the College of Mount St. Joseph (now Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati) in 1977, a challenge she welcomed, ministering there until 1987. She advanced the mission of the college to serve a broadened audience of students, putting the Mount on a new course and establishing financial solvency for the institution. She developed mentoring partnerships between the community and at-risk high school students. Under her presidency, the Mount extended its liberal arts, career-oriented mission to women and men of all ages, mothers returning to college after raising their families, and minority and low-income students. She expanded the college’s reach to serve the needs of the community by starting the first weekend college program for adults in Cincinnati. She put in place a program called Project EXCEL, which today continues to provide educational and emotional support for students with learning disabilities to succeed in college. Her response was to develop a high school mentoring program and summer residency experience for Cincinnati-area African-American students called Project SCOPE, which also continues today. She came to be accurately recognized as a role model for women serving on business and civic boards.
Under her leadership S. Jean Patrice met with government officials and educators in seven Asian countries to discuss international education and student exchange opportunities; she was awarded the highest honor given by Sangmyung Women’s University in Korea for contributions made to further women’s education. She is widely credited with building the Mount’s institutional visibility, partnering with the broader business community and almost doubling the enrollment at the end of her 10-year tenure.
In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, S. Jean Patrice offered her services on a broad variety of boards in the area, serving as trustee for the Family Service Foundation, Star Bank (first woman), University of Dayton, Dress for Success, Cincinnati Bell, St. Rita School for the Deaf, Good Samaritan Hospital and Foundation, Robert and Ruth Conway Foundation, The Springer School, Community Chest, College of Mount St. Joseph, Literacy Network, Roger Bacon High School, St. Ursula Villa, Miami University and the Foundation, Cincinnati Choral Society, and Dan Beard Council Boy Scouts of America. She also served as co-founder and executive director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative; she offered her assistance to the Hamilton County Child Abuse Task Force, Junior League, Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, Racism Summit Steering Committee, Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Education Committee, and Cincinnati Archdiocese Commission on Education.
During the 1990s and 2000s, S. Jean Patrice received awards from Children’s Advocate, Beech Acres, Ohioana Library Association, Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, Children’s Defense Fund, Greater Cincinnati Chapter of Public Relations Society of America, ProKids Child Advocacy, Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, Friars Club, and Cincinnati Union Bethel. She was honored by having the new student center at the College of Mount St. Joseph named after her at its dedication in 1998.
S. Jean Patrice was awarded honorary degrees from eight institutions of higher learning, including Xavier University, Hebrew Union College, Ohio Dominican, St. Thomas Institute, and Northern Kentucky University. She was most proud when she was able to make a difference for kids, young or older; she looked to open doors for them, particularly in education and improved living situations.
When asked about highlights of her life, S. Jean Patrice stated, “Receiving a fellowship to the University of Colorado, dancing with the Denver Grand Opera Company and a trip to South America to represent the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in the Inter-American Conference of Religious on Social Justice, while also visiting our Sisters in Peru and Ecuador stand out for me. Relationships have blessed my life throughout. The assurance of my Sister friends’ loyalty and support in joyful and difficult times has been one of my life’s greatest joys.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sister Jean Patrice Harrington, S.C., beloved member of the Sisters of Charity. Departed Saturday, July 1, 2017 at the age of 94. The Sisters of Charity will receive guests in the Chapel of the Motherhouse at Mount Saint Joseph on Friday, July 7, 2017 from 2 pm until Mass of Christian Burial in the Motherhouse Chapel at 3 pm. Burial will follow in the Motherhouse Cemetery. Memorials to the Sisters of Charity Retirement Fund, 5900 Delhi Road, Mount Saint Joseph, OH 45051 or Mount St. Joseph University, 5701 Delhi Road, Cincinnati, OH 45233. Condolences may be expressed at: GilliganFuneralHomes.com.
Published in The Cincinnati Enquirer from July 5 to July 6, 2017
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Memory Monday
By S. Judith Metz
In 1989, the late S. Jean Patrice Harrington received the honorary doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph.
Among the many honorary degrees, plaques, certificates and other awards recognizing the late S. Jean Patrice Harrington, the 1989 honorary doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph, was her most cherished recognition. Received just two years after her retirement as president of the institution, nothing could be more fitting to acknowledge and celebrate her contribution as a “determined leader, woman of deep faith and premier innovative educator.”
Born in Denver, Colorado, and educated by the Sisters of Charity at Cathedral High School, Patricia Jean Harrington then received a scholarship to the College of Mount St. Joseph but instead entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1940. She spent her early years teaching at schools in Trinidad, Pueblo, and Denver before earning a Ph.D. in university administration from the University of Colorado in 1967. Although recruited by several universities and colleges for administrative positions, S. Jean Patrice spent the next 10 years serving in Sister of Charity community administrative roles.
When named president of the College of Mount St. Joseph in 1977, this experienced educator and administrator faced significant financial and educational challenges. According to the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, she “led one of the biggest comebacks in the community in recent memory, bringing the College of Mount St. Joseph back from educational and financial obscurity.”
When she took over its leadership, the college was $1.2 million in debt and enrollment was falling. When she retired 10 years later the budget was balanced, fundraising targets were being surpassed, and enrollment had nearly doubled. S. Jean Patrice built the institution’s visibility by partnering with the business community. She integrated the college’s liberal arts mission with its career-based education. She extended the Mount’s enrollment to include women and men of all ages, including minorities and low-income students. Under her leadership, the Mount started the first weekend college for adults in Cincinnati, Project EXCEL for students with learning disabilities, and Project SCOPE, a high school mentoring program and summer residency program for Cincinnati-area African-American students.
S. Jean Patrice Harrington
When reflecting on these accomplishments, S. Jean Patrice commented: “I got a lot of credit for what people said I did, but I have to honestly say it was because I was surrounded by a faculty who was willing and ready for change, by loyal lay people who went to the city and made the college known, solicited funds, and at the end of one year we were able to balance the budget…. I could never say enough about the good people who surrounded me and made me look good.”
After her retirement, S. Jean Patrice was appointed director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, served on numerous boards, and contributed her time and talents to many local organizations. In all this, she never forgot the Mount, serving on its board and initiating the foundation of a college archives to preserve forever the history of her alma mater. doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph.
S. Jean Patrice Harrington
S. Jean Patrice Harrington died July 1, 2017, at the age of 94 in Mother Margaret Hall. S. Jean Patrice was born Patricia Jean Harrington on July 15, 1922, to Irish parents James M. and Katherine (Holland) Harrington in Denver, Colorado. She was an only child who credits her parents for her deep faith and confidence to take risks to serve and advocate for children. S. Jean Patrice was a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati for 76 years.
S. Jean Patrice was raised in Denver and attended St. Dominic grade school and graduated from Cathedral High School in 1940. She was taught by the Sisters of Charity at Cathedral and chose to enter the congregation in the fall of 1940. It was the Sisters’ willingness to serve, their free spirit and friendliness that attracted her to the congregation. Thus began a lifetime of service as a determined leader, committed religious woman and a premiere, innovative educator.
S. Jean Patrice earned the Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati, in 1953; she received a master’s in education from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, in 1957 and a Ph.D. in administration from the University of Colorado in 1967. She did additional academic work at St. Louis University, University of Notre Dame and Seattle University.
S. Jean Patrice’s ministries brought her to educational settings over a 23-year period, all in Colorado, beginning at Holy Trinity, Trinidad (1942-’45, 1953-’55). This was followed by Loyola, Denver (1945-’53); St. Rose, Denver (1955-’57); Cathedral High School, Denver (1957-’65); additionally she served as principal at Cathedral from 1959-’65. She earned her Ph.D. in 1967, served as director of institutional research at the College of Mount St. Joseph until 1969 and then directed El Pomar Retreat House, Colorado Springs. She also was elected to leadership in the SC congregation in 1969 and began eight years of Governing Board service. More new opportunities and directions were coming into focus.
S. Jean Patrice was elected president of the College of Mount St. Joseph (now Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati) in 1977, a challenge she welcomed, ministering there until 1987. She advanced the mission of the college to serve a broadened audience of students, putting the Mount on a new course and establishing financial solvency for the institution. She developed mentoring partnerships between the community and at-risk high school students. Under her presidency, the Mount extended its liberal arts, career-oriented mission to women and men of all ages, mothers returning to college after raising their families, and minority and low-income students. She expanded the college’s reach to serve the needs of the community by starting the first weekend college program for adults in Cincinnati. She put in place a program called Project EXCEL, which today continues to provide educational and emotional support for students with learning disabilities to succeed in college. Her response was to develop a high school mentoring program and summer residency experience for Cincinnati-area African-American students called Project SCOPE, which also continues today. She came to be accurately recognized as a role model for women serving on business and civic boards.
Under her leadership S. Jean Patrice met with government officials and educators in seven Asian countries to discuss international education and student exchange opportunities; she was awarded the highest honor given by Sangmyung Women’s University in Korea for contributions made to further women’s education. She is widely credited with building the Mount’s institutional visibility, partnering with the broader business community and almost doubling the enrollment at the end of her 10-year tenure.
In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, S. Jean Patrice offered her services on a broad variety of boards in the area, serving as trustee for the Family Service Foundation, Star Bank (first woman), University of Dayton, Dress for Success, Cincinnati Bell, St. Rita School for the Deaf, Good Samaritan Hospital and Foundation, Robert and Ruth Conway Foundation, The Springer School, Community Chest, College of Mount St. Joseph, Literacy Network, Roger Bacon High School, St. Ursula Villa, Miami University and the Foundation, Cincinnati Choral Society, and Dan Beard Council Boy Scouts of America. She also served as co-founder and executive director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative; she offered her assistance to the Hamilton County Child Abuse Task Force, Junior League, Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, Racism Summit Steering Committee, Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Education Committee, and Cincinnati Archdiocese Commission on Education.
During the 1990s and 2000s, S. Jean Patrice received awards from Children’s Advocate, Beech Acres, Ohioana Library Association, Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, Children’s Defense Fund, Greater Cincinnati Chapter of Public Relations Society of America, ProKids Child Advocacy, Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, Friars Club, and Cincinnati Union Bethel. She was honored by having the new student center at the College of Mount St. Joseph named after her at its dedication in 1998.
S. Jean Patrice was awarded honorary degrees from eight institutions of higher learning, including Xavier University, Hebrew Union College, Ohio Dominican, St. Thomas Institute, and Northern Kentucky University. She was most proud when she was able to make a difference for kids, young or older; she looked to open doors for them, particularly in education and improved living situations.
When asked about highlights of her life, S. Jean Patrice stated, “Receiving a fellowship to the University of Colorado, dancing with the Denver Grand Opera Company and a trip to South America to represent the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in the Inter-American Conference of Religious on Social Justice, while also visiting our Sisters in Peru and Ecuador stand out for me. Relationships have blessed my life throughout. The assurance of my Sister friends’ loyalty and support in joyful and difficult times has been one of my life’s greatest joys.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sister Jean Patrice Harrington, S.C., beloved member of the Sisters of Charity. Departed Saturday, July 1, 2017 at the age of 94. The Sisters of Charity will receive guests in the Chapel of the Motherhouse at Mount Saint Joseph on Friday, July 7, 2017 from 2 pm until Mass of Christian Burial in the Motherhouse Chapel at 3 pm. Burial will follow in the Motherhouse Cemetery. Memorials to the Sisters of Charity Retirement Fund, 5900 Delhi Road, Mount Saint Joseph, OH 45051 or Mount St. Joseph University, 5701 Delhi Road, Cincinnati, OH 45233. Condolences may be expressed at: GilliganFuneralHomes.com.
Published in The Cincinnati Enquirer from July 5 to July 6, 2017
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Memory Monday
By S. Judith Metz
In 1989, the late S. Jean Patrice Harrington received the honorary doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph.
Among the many honorary degrees, plaques, certificates and other awards recognizing the late S. Jean Patrice Harrington, the 1989 honorary doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph, was her most cherished recognition. Received just two years after her retirement as president of the institution, nothing could be more fitting to acknowledge and celebrate her contribution as a “determined leader, woman of deep faith and premier innovative educator.”
Born in Denver, Colorado, and educated by the Sisters of Charity at Cathedral High School, Patricia Jean Harrington then received a scholarship to the College of Mount St. Joseph but instead entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1940. She spent her early years teaching at schools in Trinidad, Pueblo, and Denver before earning a Ph.D. in university administration from the University of Colorado in 1967. Although recruited by several universities and colleges for administrative positions, S. Jean Patrice spent the next 10 years serving in Sister of Charity community administrative roles.
When named president of the College of Mount St. Joseph in 1977, this experienced educator and administrator faced significant financial and educational challenges. According to the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, she “led one of the biggest comebacks in the community in recent memory, bringing the College of Mount St. Joseph back from educational and financial obscurity.”
When she took over its leadership, the college was $1.2 million in debt and enrollment was falling. When she retired 10 years later the budget was balanced, fundraising targets were being surpassed, and enrollment had nearly doubled. S. Jean Patrice built the institution’s visibility by partnering with the business community. She integrated the college’s liberal arts mission with its career-based education. She extended the Mount’s enrollment to include women and men of all ages, including minorities and low-income students. Under her leadership, the Mount started the first weekend college for adults in Cincinnati, Project EXCEL for students with learning disabilities, and Project SCOPE, a high school mentoring program and summer residency program for Cincinnati-area African-American students.
S. Jean Patrice Harrington
When reflecting on these accomplishments, S. Jean Patrice commented: “I got a lot of credit for what people said I did, but I have to honestly say it was because I was surrounded by a faculty who was willing and ready for change, by loyal lay people who went to the city and made the college known, solicited funds, and at the end of one year we were able to balance the budget…. I could never say enough about the good people who surrounded me and made me look good.”
After her retirement, S. Jean Patrice was appointed director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, served on numerous boards, and contributed her time and talents to many local organizations. In all this, she never forgot the Mount, serving on its board and initiating the foundation of a college archives to preserve forever the history of her alma mater. doctoral degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph.
