Video Interviews of Past Presidents

From Past to Present

Video Interviews of Past Presidents

As one of the many ways that Rosemont College is celebrating its Centennial year, members of the Education Sub-Committee met with five of the College’s past presidents (Dr. Sharon Latchaw Hirsh ’70, PhD; Margaret M. Healy, PhD; Ofelia Garcia, MFA; Dorothy McKenna Brown, EdD; Sister Ann Marie Durst, SHCJ, JD) and current president Jayson Boyers, EdD, to provide them with an opportunity to reflect on their time serving the College.

Led by veteran broadcaster and alumna Pat Ciarrocchi ’74, the conversations reveal both the joys and the challenges that have impacted each president’s collective days at Rosemont and reflect on how life at Rosemont has mirrored the broader context of the world and society during their presidencies.

The interviews found here tell the story of how Rosemont has met “the wants of the age” through the voices of these six of the College’s 14 presidents who have led us through the years. Supplemented with archival and present-day photos that capture the changing faces of the students, the fashion of the day, and key campus events, this video series will take you on a journey through Rosemont’s history and is best viewed in chronological order.

A member of the SHCJ since 1955, Sister Ann Marie began her tenure as president at the young age of 33 and on the heels of the tumultuous 1960s. Students across the country, including those at Rosemont, were demanding more independence. She noted then that her role in the Rosemont community was to facilitate and create unity within all groups on campus for the good of the whole, encouraging others to be aware of the needs of students, faculty, and administration.

As a scientist, the first lay president in Rosemont’s history, a wife, and a mother of two young daughters, Dr. Brown continued the foundational work of her predecessor Sister Ann Marie Durst in expanding beyond the traditional liberal arts education at the College to meet the wants of a new age. The first business courses, business major, and master’s-degree program were introduced.

Garcia, a Cuban refugee, appreciated the opportunities presented by a women’s college to prepare its students for leadership positions in an environment without the competition of, and deference to, young male students. If something were to be done, it had to be done by women. But she also looked at the significant competition for students along the Main Line and found a way for Rosemont to stand out by meeting the wants of the age and leveraging local employers who had tuition reimbursement programs.

“It was an age of youth. They wanted youth and they got it.”

Ann Marie Durst, SHCJ, JD

8th President 1971-78

Dorothy McKenna Brown, EdD

9th President 1979-91

“Not all would be able to go on to graduate school, medical school, or law school. They’re going to have to get jobs, so we have to think about ways to encourage that and get them set up.”

“Think of what could be offered to others and when. It was at that time we began an experiment. We became the first. We provided an accelerated degree completion program.”

Ofelia Garcia, MFA

10th President 1991-95

“What I was trying to do was give young women the encouragement to do anything they wanted to do.”

“There was a change in attitude, a change in behavior to some extent. Everybody commented, ‘doesn’t it seem like we’ve always been co-ed?’”

Margaret M. “Peg” Healy, PhD

11th President 1995-2001

Familiar to Rosemont from her days on campus in the 1960s and 70s as faculty and academic dean, and later on the College’s Board of Trustees, Dr. Healy returned to Rosemont as president in 1995 after a long career at Bryn Mawr College. Faced with a significant financial challenge, Dr. Healy rebuilt the endowment fivefold. She also expanded to offcampus programs and established three distinct schools: the undergraduate women’s college, the school of continuing studies, and the school of graduate studies. (Today the College comprises two schools: the undergraduate college and the school of graduate and professional studies.) She also brought significant focus to diversifying the student body.

Shortly after joining the other presidents on campus for her interview, Dr. Healy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and passed away peacefully on Nov. 11, 2021. Her funeral with the Rosemont community was held on campus on Dec. 15.

Sharon Latchaw Hirsh, PhD

13th President 2005-20

Dr. Hirsh, with a long academic career in art history at Dickinson College, is the first lay alumna to become president of Rosemont. While sitting on Rosemont’s Board of Trustees, she quickly assumed the role during a time of sadness. Her predecessor, Ann Amore, PhD, passed away unexpectedly after four years as the College’s president. Dr. Hirsh’s tenure saw significant change, perhaps led by the transition to coeducation, but also including additional graduate programs, online degrees, a $40 million campaign, and a bold tuition reset. She is most proud of the culture built among students, faculty, and staff. (As part of her interview, Dr. Hirsh gives a beautiful tribute to her predecessor Dr. Amore.)

“All of these leaders shared a story that I’m sharing right now, which is getting up in the morning and trying to answer the question of how we make sure we honor Rosemont’s legacy every day.”

Jayson Boyers, EdD

14th President 2020-Present

Dr. Boyers began serving Rosemont in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a healthcare crisis that has impacted everything from admissions to commencement since the winter of 2020. Despite the numerous challenges posed by the pandemic, he has helped to lead the College to its largest enrollment in five years and has formed a number of community partnerships, including with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, that are expected to further increase admissions. Prior to joining Rosemont, he was the president of Cleary University in Howell, MI, a position he held from 2015-20. Before Cleary University, he served as vice president and managing director of the Division of Continuing Professional Studies for Champlain College in Vermont. Jayson, his wife, Mandy, and their two rescue dogs, Mia and Bella, are residents of Wayne, PA.