In Memoriam: Catherine McNamee, 1931-2020

Sister Catherine McNamee, the eighth president of what is now St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, passed on August 30. She was 89 years old.

A native of Troy, New York, Sister McNamee served as president of the university from 1979 to 1984. Following her tenure as president, she continued to contribute to the advancement of St. Catherine University, serving as professor of multicultural perspectives from 2006 to 2008, and as an active, contributing, and highly respected member of the board of trustees from 2013 to 2019.

Becky Roloff, current president of St. Catherine University, said that Sister McNamee raised the local and national visibility of the university while she was president and “supported initiatives to meet the evolving needs of women, thus honoring and upholding the mission of St. Kate’s and its founders.”

Sister McNamee was the first woman president of the National Catholic Educational Association. She served in that role from 1986 to 1996.