Sr. Ann Sakac, OP, Mount president for 32 years, passes away
Photo by Lee Ferris
The Mount Saint Mary College community was deeply saddened by the passing of Sr. Ann Sakac, OP, the longest-serving president the college has ever known, on Wednesday, January 24. She was 91.
Sr. Sakac, a Dominican Sister of Hope, left behind a massive legacy at the college she loved. She was a driving force behind the Mount’s growth and prosperity in its critical early years and until well after the turn of the millennium.
“Whenever one mentions Mount Saint Mary College, there is one name that almost invariably surfaces, and that is Sr. Ann Sakac,” said Sr. Catherine McDonell, OP, Prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Hope. “Sr. Ann touched the lives of many people in her long and generous life of service. We, her Dominican Sisters, will miss her greatly.”
Fr. Gregoire Fluet, Interim President of the Mount, and the Most Rev. Dominick John Lagonegro, celebrated a funeral Mass for Sr. Sakac in the Chapel of the Most Holy Rosary on Tuesday, January 30. She was buried in the Dominican Sisters Cemetery on the Mount campus.
Scores of professors, students, staff, and alumni of the Mount attended, as well as Sr. Sakac’s fellow Dominican Sisters and her friends from the community. A livestream of the event was viewed by more than 100 people.
During a reflection at the funeral Mass, Sr. Catherine Walsh, OP ’70, professor emerita of Communication Arts at the college, discussed Sr. Sakac’s immeasurable impact on the Mount.
Sr. Sakac made it her top priority “to assist the development and growth of the college for the sake of providing an excellent education for its students,” explained Sr. Walsh. “She fostered an atmosphere of inclusion. Her leadership had all of the college doing their very best. She exemplified the way we were to be as a college, how we were to achieve success.”
She began her time at the Mount in 1969 as a professor of English and assistant dean of students. Sr. Sakac then spent 32 years as president of the college, first as acting president from 1976 to 1977, then as president from 1977 to 2008. When she stepped down, Sr. Sakac remained devoted to the college she loved for the next 15-plus years.
Photos by Lee Ferris
Under her 32-year leadership at the college, Sr. Sakac oversaw much of the college’s expansion from a fledgling institution to a pillar of the community. Some of the highlights of Sr. Sakac’s tenure as Mount president include the development of the college’s first master’s degree program; a new residence hall called Sakac Hall; renovations to Guzman Hall; and the renovation and development of the Mathematics, Science and Technology Center in Aquinas Hall.
Sr. Sakac’s impact on the Mount’s relationship with the local community cannot be overstated. Under her leadership, Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital began accepting Mount Nursing students for fieldwork, and local companies like IBM in Poughkeepsie and Affron Fuel Oil Inc. in New Windsor helped the college to develop and thrive in the 1970s and 1980s.
The dedicated sister also worked closely with Newburgh businessman and philanthropist, William Kaplan. The two met during an early morning walk across the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge and quickly became great friends. Thanks to the generosity of Kaplan, his wife Elaine, and the Kaplan Family Foundation, the Mount was able to make much-appreciated improvements to campus, including the Elaine and William Kaplan Recreation Center; the Kaplan Family Library and Learning Center; The Kaplan Field; and more.
In her first years with the college, Sr. Sakac lived on campus (in College Court 412) with a group of freshmen ladies who would go on to become the Mount’s Class of 1973.
“There was always a closeness among the students,” noted Sr. Sakac in a 2018 interview with Mount Saint Mary College Magazine. “I know from having lived with the students how much they appreciated their relationships with the faculty. That was a hallmark of the Mount in the early days…it still is.”
Photo provided
Her connection to the students would only grow from there, noted Elaine O’Grady ‘89, Vice President for Students at the Mount. She was a student at the college when Sr. Sakac was president, and also worked with her for many years as an employee of the college.
“What was so special about her was that she treated each student as an individual and unique person,” said O’Grady. “She was open and easy to talk to, and was just so dedicated to the mission of Mount Saint Mary College.”
Sr. Joann Boneski, OP ’65, added, “Sr. Ann was a dear friend, a confidant, and a mentor. I always appreciated her wisdom and thoughtful way. I will miss her [and] may she rest in peace.”
Sr. Sakac ended her 2018 interview with MSMC Magazine with a powerful message: She hoped that all Mount students, past and present, would embody the notion “that we [the Mount community] are here to serve. The individual then picks up the role of service as they leave this campus, and spreads it out nationally.”
The Sister Ann Memorial Endowed Scholarship – which supports incoming students who have financial need and the academic aptitude to succeed at the Mount – was established in December 2023 thanks to a gift from Penny Ducker, Class of 1973. Donations to the scholarship can be made here: www.msmc.edu/newscholarships
Presidents of Mount Saint Mary College, 1960 - 2024
Mother Leo Vincent, OP: 1960 – 1964
Sr. Mary Francis McDonald, OP: 1964 – 1972
William T. O’Hara: 1972 – 1976
Sr. Ann Sakac, OP: 1976 – 1977 (Acting President); 1977 – 2008 (President)
Fr. Kevin Mackin, OFM: 2008 – 2014
Anne Carson Daly, 2014 – 2016
James M. Raimo, 2016 (Acting President)
David A. Kennett, 2016 – 2018 (Interim President)
Jason N. Adsit, 2018 – 2023
Fr. Gregoire J. Fluet, 2023 – 2024 (Interim President)
Robert Gervasi, 2024 – present
