Sister Lucille McKillop, 83; led Salve Regina for 21 years
In her first months as president of Salve Regina College in 1973, Sister Lucille Hugh McKillop ended decades of women-only education at the oceanside Newport, R.I., school and admitted men.
The move, along with her push to offer graduate studies programs, helped the college nestled amid gilded-age mansions overcome a $1 million deficit, boost enrollment, and eventually become an accredited university.
Sister McKillop, a Sister of Mercy who with 21 years at the helm was the college's longest-serving president, died Thursday in Chicago at age 83 after a brief illness.
"Sister Lucille worked diligently to serve the needs and interest of generations of students," the university's current president, M. Therese Antone, said in a statement. "The best years of her life were spent ensuring that the mission of Salve Regina University would continue."
During her tenure, enrollment more than doubled to 2,300. The college won university status in 1991 and now has 2,589 students from 42 states and 17 nations.
When she left in 1994 to return to her native Chicago, Sister McKillop downplayed the role of her early decisions in the university's success.
"A lot of people want to talk about how we erased deficits in the first few years and got the college back on its feet, and that's all true," she said in an interview with Newport This Week, a local newspaper. "But I prefer to talk about what we've done since then in building the college into a university, which I believe has advanced far ahead of comparable institutions."
Sister McKillop was one of three girls born to Daniel and Catherine (Hamill) McKillop of County Antrim, Ireland.
The three girls studied Irish dancing under renowned Chicago instructor Pat Roche in the 1930s and '40s, winning first-place medals in national competition in June 1944.
In September of that year, Sister McKillop and her sister Roselina entered the Sisters of Mercy Convent, while their sister Kathleen went on to become a national Irish dance champion in 1945.
Sister McKillop graduated from Siena High School, before earning her bachelor's degree in math from St. Xavier College. She earned her master's degree from the University of Notre Dame and a doctorate in mathematics instruction and curriculum from the University of Wisconsin.
She taught mathematics for many years at Catholic schools in Chicago and Ottawa, Ill. She later joined the St. Xavier College Faculty, where she chaired the mathematics department and the Division of Liberal Arts and Humanities.
At Salve Regina, the trustees marked Sister McKillop's 20th anniversary in 1993 by naming the university's new library after her. Last year, McKillop Library displayed photos of its namesake at the governor's ball she helped found in 1977 as a scholarship fund-raiser. In one photo, she is daintily holding up the corners of her gown and dancing a jig with former Rhode Island governor Joseph Garrahy.
She served on several legislative study commissions and civic boards in Rhode Island over the years, including the Newport Music Festival board of directors. The Rhode Island Supreme Court appointed her to its commission on mandatory legal education for attorneys. She also was elected to the Rhode Island Board of Directors of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
Sister McKillop received numerous honorary degrees from institutions over the years, including Roger Williams University and Salve Regina. At her last graduation ceremony as president, she joked, "After 21 years, I have finally received my Salve Regina degree."
While president, she drove a vehicle with the license plate OQ74, which represented "Our Queen" in honor of the Virgin Mary, and the year she took the college's helm, according to Salve Regina alum Kevin Canessa of Summit, N.J.
"Sister Lucille was such a woman that when you were around her, you wanted to do like her school's motto demanded. You wanted to be 'Your Best Self,' " he said. "Her grace and amazing stature just made me want to be a better person."
The underlying goals of Sister McKillop's religious order drove her life, according to her former colleagues.
"Sister Lucille McKillop was first a Sister of Mercy," said Sister Antone. "Her dedication to education and the traditions of the Sisters of Mercy contributed significantly to those traditions continuing to thrive on the campus of Salve Regina University."
Sister McKillop returned to Chicago in 1994 and was appointed president of the Sisters of Mercy Regional Community of Chicago.
A grandniece, Melissa Mueller of Chicago, said Sister McKillop was one of the most compassionate women she has ever known.
"One lesson I learned from Aunt Lucille is that life isn't about myself. It is about using the power of determination and faith to help and encourage those that need it," Mueller said.
Sister McKillop leaves her sister, Sister Roselina McKillop of Chicago; three nephews, one niece; and 19 grandnieces and grandnephews.
A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Salve Regina's Ochre Court.
A funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at Mercy Chapel in Chicago. Interment will follow at Mount Carmel Cemetery. 