Sister Margaret Fitzpatrick, President of St. Thomas Aquinas College, to Retire in 2020

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Sister Margaret Fitzpatrick, S.C., who has served as president of St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill since 1995, has announced she will retire at the end of June 2020 after completing 25 years as the college’s president.

“I feel I am so fortunate to have been the president and to have been able to work with you,” Sister Margaret told college employees via video May 10 after the college’s 62nd commencement ceremony.

“The best part of being president has been to serve the college’s students alongside you; thank you for this privilege.”

She noted how proud she was of everything she and the employees of St. Thomas Aquinas College have accomplished. After retiring, she said, she would take a one-year sabbatical and then plans to return to the college to teach for several years.

Peter Skae, chairman of the college’s board of trustees, in a statement, said, “Dr. Fitzpatrick has been an exceptional leader, amazing visionary and true friend to St. Thomas Aquinas College.”

Skae will lead the search committee that has been formed to hire the next president, who will begin July 1, 2020. A college news release stated Sister Margaret’s service as president includes “being the chief executive officer and academic leader.”

Sister Margaret led the college in strategic planning and assessment, and advancing institutional, internal and external relations. She is also a tenured professor teaching in the fields of education, mathematics, science and religion.

Sister Margaret’s accomplishments and contributions to the college’s growth and success include reorganizing the college into three schools—School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business and School of Education; creating the National Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at St. Aquinas College; and recruiting faculty members who strengthen core academic programs and create the academic programs of the future.

Sister Margaret, a Sister of Charity-Halifax, holds a doctorate in higher education from Columbia University. She has master’s degrees from Columbia and Fordham University, and a bachelor’s degree from Boston State College.