[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 60 (Wednesday, April 16, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PAYING TRIBUTE TO SISTER ANN SAKAC

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MAURICE D. HINCHEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 16, 2008

  Mr. HINCHEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Sister Ann Sakac, 
president of Mount Saint Mary College, in Newburgh, New York, as she 
prepares to retire on June 30 after 31 years as president, and nearly 
40 years of service to this excellent college and to the Hudson Valley 
region of New York State.
  Over the past four decades, Sister Ann has nurtured and enhanced the 
educational environment of Newburgh and the Hudson Valley. The Mount 
Saint Mary College board of trustees appointed her as the fourth 
president of the college in March 1977; she had been named acting 
president the previous August. When she became president, enrollment 
stood at 877; today some 2,600 men and women attend and benefit from 
the college.
  Sister Ann is a member of the Dominican Sisters of Hope, formerly the 
Dominican Sisters of Newburgh, who founded the college in 1959. She 
came to the Mount Saint Mary College in 1969 to teach English. She also 
served as assistant dean of students.
  During her presidency, the college has added programs in accounting, 
business management and administration, computer science and 
communication arts as well as graduate programs in education, nursing, 
and business. The Mount has incorporated technology into the classroom, 
its library and the operation of the college. Under her leadership, the 
college has engaged in an extensive building and renovation program for 
new academic, residential and recreational space, including a new 
Mathematics, Science and Technology Center, the William and Elaine 
Kaplan Recreation Center, the renovation of Guzman Hall and Founders 
Chapel, the construction of a mid-rise student residence and the 
renovation of the College Courts residence halls. Mount Saint Mary 
College has invested more than $75 million in its campus since 2002 and 
seen its annual operating budget expand from $3.5 million in 1977 to 
$54 million today.
  Sister Ann has also made a tremendous impact off campus. Many 
organizations have absorbed her wisdom and expertise for their boards. 
She served as president of the Associated Colleges of the Mid-Hudson 
Region and is former chair of Pattern for Progress, Inc. She was a 
trustee of St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital from 1981-1999 and served on 
the board of trustees of the Commission of Independent Colleges and 
Universities. She has received many awards, including an honorary 
degree of Doctor of Humanities from Providence College in 2003. The New 
York State Senate named her a Woman of Distinction in 2006.
  Madam Speaker, I am delighted to honor and thank Sister Ann for her 
distinguished career as president of Mount Saint Mary College and for 
her service to higher education and the community. I congratulate and 
salute Sister Ann, who has become synonymous with the identity of Mount 
Saint Mary College, on her dedication to teaching and her commitment to 
improving the lives of so many individuals.

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