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For Immediate Release
December 26, 2003
Contact: Nick Farmer, Director of Marketing Communications, 574-286-1338

Saint Mary’s Trustees Announce New College President

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Saint Mary’s College Board of Trustees names Carol Ann Mooney as the College’s 11th president. Dr. Mooney, vice president and associate provost at the University of Notre Dame, will take office on June 1, 2004.

The search for a new president began in March of this year, shortly after Dr. Marilou Eldred announced her intention to retire. Eldred agreed, at the board’s request, to remain as president until a replacement was named. A presidential search committee, consisting of student, faculty, staff, alumnae, board and community representatives, worked with executive search firm Korn/Ferry International to bring four qualified candidates to Saint Mary’s for meetings with the campus community. The search committee presented three finalists to the board for consideration this month.

Upon conclusion of the interview process and after subsequent deliberation, the board felt that Mooney distinguished herself as the clear choice to assume the presidency. “The College’s first lay alumna takes the helm at her alma mater at a pivotal time for Saint Mary’s,” says Sister Joan Marie Steadman, CSC, chair of the board of trustees. “The board believes Dr. Mooney brings exceptional gifts to Saint Mary’s and is confident in her ability to provide strong leadership and creative direction for the College.”

Mooney’s professional involvement in Catholic higher education began 23 years ago when she became a member of the University of Notre Dame Law School faculty in 1980. Since 1996, she has served as Notre Dame’s vice president and associate provost. In the provost’s office, Mooney’s primary duties involve faculty personnel issues such as supervision of the faculty promotion and tenure process. In addition, the School of Architecture, the Snite Museum and the University Press report to Mooney.

“All of us at Notre Dame are personally and professionally pleased for Carol,” said Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president. “She is a scholar of the first rank, a superb administrator and a close colleague. Through her work in the Provost’s Office and the Law School, as well as her efforts to further the endeavors of female and multicultural students and faculty, her contributions have been many and have left an indelible mark on the University. We’ll miss her wise counsel, but look forward to working in collaboration with her in the years ahead.”

“It is an honor to be joining the ranks of those who have led and helped shape this exceptional institution,” says Mooney. “My thanks go out to Dr. Marilou Eldred for leaving such a legacy of success. I have watched Saint Mary’s grow and prosper over the years, and seeing the College’s continued commitment to excellence and dedication to the holistic development of young women fills me with pride.” Mooney goes on to say, “I am excited about the opportunity to work with such a close community of exceptional faculty, dedicated staff, talented students, the Sisters of the Holy Cross and my fellow alumnae.”

Mooney acknowledges that returning to Saint Mary’s will be a shift from her experience at a much larger university, but she believes working in such a prominent institution has provided tools she can use to help Saint Mary’s continue as a leader in Catholic women’s education “There is much to build upon here: recognized academic excellence, a vibrant campus community, a strong record of service and involvement with the broader community, athletic potential, and the promise of strides in curriculum, diversity and technology. I look forward to the privilege of serving Saint Mary’s, building on the College’s tradition of excellence and expanding her national reputation. I have great hope for my alma mater’s future, and can’t wait to come home again.”

A native of Norwich, N.Y., Dr. Mooney graduated from Saint Mary’s College in 1972 with a B.A. degree in English and received her J.D. degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1977, graduating first in her class and earning the Colonel William J. Hoynes award. She practiced law from 1977-78 as an associate attorney in the Washington, D.C., firm of Jones, Day, Reavis and Pogue.

In her 23 years as a member of the Notre Dame Law School faculty, Dr. Mooney has taught courses on trusts and estates, estate planning, and the federal court system. In 1983 she received the law school’s Teacher of the Year award. Dr. Mooney is the co-author of two books, along with numerous articles in law reviews and other scholarly periodicals. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was elected a member of the American Law Institute in 1988. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Renquist recently named her a member of the U.S. Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, for which she had been reporter since 1985.

Mooney has been actively involved in many university committees, including: the University Committee on Cultural Diversity, the Academic Council, the Provost’s Advisory Committee, the Academic Affirmative Action Committee, and the Laetare Medal and Notre Dame Award selection committees. She has also participated in Notre Dame’s last two strategic planning efforts.

Dr. Mooney served as a faculty mentor at the 1995 Collegium Summer Institute on faith and intellectual life. Collegium annually brings together distinguished faculty from its member institutions to engage young faculty and advanced graduate students in exploring how their faith influences their academic work and what it means to be a Catholic intellectual in contemporary American culture.

Dr. Mooney is active in a number of community service organizations in the Michiana area and is past president of the Logan Center Protective Services Board, a corporate guardianship program for profoundly mentally retarded adults.

Dr. Mooney and her husband, George Efta, are the parents of four daughters-Elizabeth, Christine, Caitlin and Valerie.

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Note: Photo of Dr. Carol Ann Mooney is available HERE

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