Aquinas College Announces New President

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aquinas College, the only four-year Catholic liberal arts college in middle and east Tennessee, today announced the presidency of Sister Mary Sarah Galbraith, O.P. Sister begins her tenure as president as the institution prepares to mark its 50^th anniversary during the 2011-2012 academic year.

“We have much to celebrate – our academic programs in education, nursing, business, and the liberal arts are producing some of the leading professionals in the community; and our non-academic programs such as the lecture series, St. Thomas Aquinas Forum, and special conferences are touching lives well beyond middle Tennessee.”

Sister Mary Sarah returned to Nashville in January of this year from Sydney, Australia, to teach history at Aquinas College and to prepare for the transition of responsibilities from former president Sister Mary Peter, O.P., who is leaving in order to pursue graduate studies at the Augustine Institute after a successful tenure as head of the college.

A native of Kansas City, Mo., Sister Mary Sarah entered the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation (“Nashville Dominicans”) in 1988. She attended Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., graduating in 1992 with a bachelor of science in Biology, cum laude, and dual minors in History and Secondary Education. She spent the next several years teaching multiple grade levels in classrooms around the country, including St. Vincent de Paul School in Denver, Colo.; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Newport News, Va.; Saint Joseph School in Nashville, Tenn.; and Saint Rose School and John Carroll High School in Birmingham, Ala.

In 1999, Sister Mary Sarah was appointed principal of Our Lady of Victory School in Chicago, Ill., a post that she held for four years until being named principal of St. Cecilia Academy in Nashville in 2003, where she served until 2005. From August 2005 to June 2007, Sister was in Denver, Colo., where she served as assistant principal and academic dean of Bishop Machebeuf High School. During these years of administrative service in schools, Sister continued her own education. In May 2005, she earned a Master of Arts degree in Education Administration (M.A.Ed.) from Dominican University in Chicago, and in December 2008, a second master’s in Medieval History from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Her graduate studies included coursework at other institutions as well, including the University of Tennessee, the University of Denver, and the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome.

In August 2008, Sister Mary Sarah began doctoral studies at the University of Sydney, Australia, where she also served in the University’s campus ministry program until completing her dissertation in December 2010. She returned to Nashville in January 2011 to teach history at Aquinas College and to prepare for the transition to the presidency. Sister Mary Sarah will be formally inaugurated as the eleventh president of the college on January 26, 2012 at the institution’s annual St. Thomas Aquinas Feast Day Mass at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville.

“I am honored to work with our dedicated faculty and staff in serving our students and community, especially as we look forward to the 50^th anniversary of Aquinas College,” said Sister Mary Sarah. “We have much to celebrate – our academic programs in education, nursing, business, and the liberal arts are producing some of the leading professionals in the community; and our non-academic programs such as the lecture series, St. Thomas Aquinas Forum, and special conferences are touching lives well beyond middle Tennessee.

“We are currently exploring the addition of masters programs in education and nursing; and we are grateful for the progress made on campus development to date,” she continued. “Since God has so abundantly blessed Aquinas College during these past 50 years, I am confident that He will continue to guide us as we move forward with our strategic plan. And I am looking forward to contributing to the next phase of Aquinas College history.”

About Aquinas College: Through a rigorous undergraduate curriculum that emphasizes the dignity of the human person, Aquinas College fosters the intellectual, moral, and professional development of students while preparing them for careers in the professions of education, nursing, and business. Faculty and students engage in a proactive teaching-advising partnership that enables students to cultivate rich interpersonal relationships in a Christ-centered, family-like environment that aspires to the ideal of Catholic higher education described in Ex corde Ecclesiae. Personalized instruction in small classes ensures that each student achieves his or her full academic and personal potential. Founded in 1961 by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation (“Nashville Dominicans”), Aquinas College is located on a scenic 83-acre campus in the heart of Nashville and is the only four-year Catholic liberal arts college in middle and east Tennessee. For more information, please visit www.aquinascollege.edu.

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