[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 84 (Monday, May 20, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2958-S2959]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Tribute to Sister Jane Gerety

  Mr. REED. Madam President, I am pleased to join my colleague Senator 
Whitehouse in celebrating the tenure of Sister Jane Gerety as president 
of Salve Regina University. Sister Jane has served the Salve Regina 
University community since 1995. First, she was a member of the board 
of trustees, and, starting in 2009, she became its seventh president. 
She has been an extraordinary leader, educator, and friend. We will 
miss her dearly in Rhode Island as she retires and embarks upon her 
next venture.
  Salve Regina University is a special institution. Founded by the 
Sisters of Mercy, its original charter authorized establishing a 
college to ``promote virtue, and piety and learning.'' In 1947, after 
the acquisition of Ochre Hall, Salve Regina College enrolled its first 
class of 58 students. In doing so, it opened the gates of some of the 
mansions of America's gilded age to serve a new and better purpose of 
expanding educational opportunities in the pursuit of wisdom and 
universal justice.
  It comes as no surprise that Senator Pell made Salve Regina 
University his home away from home upon his retirement from the Senate. 
Senator Pell was committed to a just and harmonious world. He was a 
man, born of privilege, who dedicated his career in public service to 
expanding educational and cultural opportunities that had previously 
been reserved for the elite to all Americans.
  Senator Whitehouse and I share a keen sense of responsibility to 
protect and build on Senator Pell's legacy. In Sister Jane, we had a 
true partner in that effort, and we are grateful for her service.
  Sister Jane embodies the founding principles of Salve Regina College, 
now Salve Regina University. On campus, she is known as the students' 
president, perhaps the highest praise for a university leader.
  She has been a real presence in student life on campus. From the 
athletic fields to the dining halls to her office, where the doors were 
always open, students knew that she had their back. She was their 
president.
  It was only fitting that the university has dedicated Wakehurst Hall, 
the hub of student activities and home to the office of community 
service, the student government association, and the campus activities 
board, in her honor. It is now called Gerety Hall, a name that in 
Sister Jane's reflection on her family speaks to love, fidelity, and 
perseverance.
  Under Sister Jane's presidency, Salve Regina University has grown, 
thrived, and helped address vital needs in the community. Sister Jane 
oversaw the expansion of academic programs, including a new doctorate 
program in nursing, a master of fine arts degree program in creative 
writing, additional experiential learning opportunities in business, 
ground-breaking research programs in the sciences, and a new campus in 
Warwick, Rhode Island to serve the academic needs of working adults in 
graduate and continuing education programs.
  She improved the campus infrastructure, spearheading the renovation 
of the O'Hare academic building, creating spaces for collaborative 
learning, and renovating laboratories for programs in science and 
nursing. Sister Jane also worked to ensure that the university 
addressed emerging areas of need, opening a digital forensics lab and 
incorporating cyber education across the undergraduate curriculum.
  Even more significantly, Sister Jane worked to ensure that students 
from all walks of life could afford a Salve Regina education. She led 
the campaign ``Scholars and Scholarships'' to reach 100 gifted, endowed 
funds valued at over $15 million to support students, faculty, and 
research. Over the last 10 years, Salve Regina's annual Governor's Ball 
for Scholarships nearly doubled in support, raising more than $500,000 
in 2019 alone as the university's signature event.
  Sister Jane's accomplishments at Salve Regina University are but some 
of her many professional and academic achievements. She earned 
bachelor's and master's degrees in French and a doctorate in English. 
She is a William Butler Yeats scholar. She has been a teacher at many 
levels--junior high, high school, and college and an academic dean.
  She had a notable career in the healthcare sector, serving as a 
senior administrator for St. Joseph's Health System in Atlanta before 
coming to Salve Regina University. In each of these roles, Sister Jane 
answered her vocation to live a life of mercy. In her words and in her 
deeds, she promotes universal justice and works for a world that is 
harmonious, just, and merciful. We are all better off for knowing 
Sister Jane.
  I will miss her advice and counsel and wish her well in her next 
endeavors. As she told the students when she announced her retirement, 
``Looking forward, we all share a bit of fear for the unknown and also 
hope for the excitement that is to come.''
  May we all follow her example and work to make what is to come 
harmonious, just, and merciful.
  I yield to my colleague, Senator Whitehouse.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, it is an honor and a true pleasure 
to join Rhode Island's senior Senator here on the floor today to honor 
the work of Salve Regina University's seventh president, Sister Jane 
Gerety. Like Senator Reed, I have enjoyed Sister Jane's friendship, 
companionship, wise counsel, encouragement, and occasional course-
correction suggestions over many years.
  She will retire next month, capping a decade of service to her 
university, to the Newport community, and to Rhode Island. Sister Jane 
has accomplished remarkable things in her tenure. She established a new 
satellite campus in Warwick to help working Rhode Islanders take 
graduate and continuing education courses. She helped establish online 
study options, bringing the university's many offerings directly to 
Rhode Island students in their homes. She launched new programs of 
study, including a master of fine arts and creative writing, 
experiential learning opportunities in a range of fields, and a 
doctoral program in nursing. She raised millions of dollars in funding 
to strengthen Salve's endowments, supporting every facet of university 
life. She supervised numerous improvements to Salve Regina's beautiful 
Newport campus, including a $46 million renovation of the O'Hare 
Academic Building.
  Sister Jane's work has contributed much to the city of Newport and 
the State of Rhode Island. Newport is home to an array of legendary 
Gilded Age mansions and other culturally significant buildings set atop 
cliffs overlooking the shining Atlantic Ocean. Many of these 
architectural masterpieces now belong to her university and have needed 
significant upkeep. From the outset, Sister Jane recognized the value 
of Salve's stewardship of the architectural heritage of Newport, RI. 
The beautifully maintained campus, replete with the newly dedicated 
Gerety Hall, named in honor of Sister Jane, is a gem of an asset for 
the city and for the State.
  Sister Jane's work has extended beyond our State's border. Under her 
management, Salve strengthened its Pell Center for International 
Relations and Public Policy. Today more than ever, the Pell Center is a 
fitting reflection of its namesake, Senator Claiborne Pell, for whom 
our democratic ideals held limitless power. The center's academic 
programs, publications, and forums spread important ideas around the 
globe, advancing American domestic and foreign policy, cyber security, 
and diversity in leadership.
  As impressive and praiseworthy as those professional accomplishments 
is the immediate personal and lasting difference Sister Jane has made 
in the individual lives of so many around her, including Senator Reed 
and myself. A

[[Page S2959]]

member of the 2019 Salve class says he will remember Sister Jane en 
route to ``bring candy and snacks to student athletes for conference 
games'' and her willingness to meet with any student in her office. 
Indeed, when visiting Newport, young alums in search of graduate school 
advice or a word of encouragement have known that they are welcome to 
stop by Sister Jane's office to find an open door, a warm heart, and 
wise counsel.
  Over the course of her career, Sister Jane embodied the values of her 
Catholic order, the Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters were founded with a 
mission to spread the gift of education and care for those in need in 
their community. Last year, Sister Jane told Newport Daily News she 
sees the institution she led as ``imbued with mercy,'' adding, ``I hope 
I've helped to cultivate that spirit.''
  I should note that with regard to the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy, 
in her service, Sister Jane also honored an extraordinary tradition of 
extraordinary female leadership.
  As I am giving these remarks, I am so glad that the Presiding Officer 
in the U.S. Senate is a woman Senator.
  Sister Therese, who was Sister Jane's predecessor, was a skilled and 
beloved leader of Salve Regina, and Sister Lucille--before Sister 
Therese and before Sister Jane--was another powerful and effective 
leader. This impressive tradition of leadership by women is worth 
celebrating on its own as we celebrate the achievements of Sister Jane, 
and Sister Jane has shown herself well worthy and advanced that 
tradition.
  Sister Jane, it is clear to all who know you--and that is pretty much 
all who love you--that the spirit of mercy has flourished at Salve 
Regina and has been enhanced in our State under your leadership. We 
wish you well in your next chapters.
  I join my senior Senator in these sentiments.