As the search for Marywood’s 13th president came to a close, Sr. Mary Persico, IHM, ED.D, sat down with Managing Editor Elizabeth Adams to reflect on her time as 12th president of Marywood University.
Persico remembers her inauguration day
On October 28, 2016, Persico was inaugurated as Marywood’s 12th president. She recalls the excitement and nerves from that joyous day.
“My inauguration day was such a happy day for me. I was really, really nervous and then I walked through the Liberal Arts Building and there was a classroom full of students, and I was a wreck, and they all said ‘Sister Mary!’ and I immediately got calm, the students just calmed me down.”
Persico explains her global initiative goals
In her inaugural address, Persico described wanting to create a “university for the world.” Persico describes the meaning behind her statement.
“I meant not just the international world but also that people of any kind of diversity whatsoever could feel like this was a place where they could come. I just want everybody to feel welcome, no matter what, because I just think we all are children of God. It sounds like a simple comment but God loves us all, each individually.”
How Persico would describe her eight years of tenure
“We’ve done so much in the last eight years it’s hard to even look back. I feel that they were fulfilling, that’s a word that comes to my mind, and also I think that we developed some good teamwork. You know, I couldn’t do anything by myself, but I could do anything with people around me who gave me good advice and who supported me, and who did things together to accomplish our goals so I feel it was fulfilling in many ways.”
“I think the fact that we broadened our footprint just in the community by having the NativityMiguel students here and the people at Marywood Heights added to our portfolio of child care and day care center…and then the African sisters where those sisters receive degrees, from bachelor’s degrees to doctoral degrees, every single year we’ve been able to get about 2,000 sisters to get degrees, and that all starts right here on our campus…And the veterans, I hope we can build up our veterans program a bit more. That would be one of the things I’d like to encourage the new president to do to really focus on that.”
Persico reflects on her biggest accomplishments
“I feel that I have a good relationship with the students, and to me it’s all about [the students] and so when I walk across campus people say, ‘Hi Sis Prez, how are you doing?’ and I feel that good relationship is really something that I’m proudest of, because I want you all to feel welcome here and happy and fulfilled yourselves.”
When asked about her favorite Marywood traditions
“What comes to mind is the Christmas Tree lighting…I think it’s a time where we bring everybody together and everybody gets a sense of what it’s like to celebrate together so I love that tradition. I love little traditions like the Flapjack Festivals, I love to go just because it’s a happy time where we’re all together and we can support the students while they’re taking their exams…I love the commencement ceremonies because it’s a time where everybody’s happy and I love being apart of that.”
Persico describes her vision and the manifestation of Marywood’s intergenerational community
“I mostly love that there was a young man who was a business student who went over there [Marywood Heights] and learned how to do accounting for nursing homes. There was a psychology student who did an internship there and interviewed the patients there. I know campus ministry folks go over there and they have all kinds of events for them, so the fact that our students can go over there and really interact, to me, is an example of intergenerational living.”
In addition to Marywood Heights, Persico also describes the inclusion of the NativityMiguel students.
“Also with the students from NativityMiguel, we have student teachers there and we have volunteers that help them do art therapy, music therapy, and that’s also true of Marywood Heights, so anything that we can do to go to other generations and serve them in some way I think is part and parcel of who we are.”
Persico’s message to the next president
“I have great hope that the next person is going to take us to the next place and is going to make sure all our wonderful professional programs are still supported by our liberal arts, because it’s the combination of the two that really make us who we are.”
Persico’s message to the Marywood community
“I think that we need to live always with hope. It’s easy not to have hope, but hope is the result in believing in other people and believing in God. If we believe in each other then we can hope that together we can do whatever we set out to do, and I always believe that. One of the reasons I feel that it’s OK for me to leave right now is that I feel we’re in a good place. We’ve done all these things and financially, universities are all struggling right now because of the enrollment cliff and the effects of COVID but I think we’re in a good enough place, in many respects and in all respects, that I can move on.”
Following her retirement Persico will be taking a 5 month sabbatical. In that time, she plans on taking a trip to Italy for a possible retreat. After concluding her sabbatical, Persico plans on coming back to Marywood part time and is looking forward to spending time with students upon her arrival.
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