Mary Eileen O’Brien, president of Dominican University in Orangetown, New York, has announced that she will be retiring.
In an email to the university community, President O’Brien said that “serving as president of Dominican University has never been a job for me; it has been a mission and a calling. I will forever hold the university, its students, faculty, staff, and alumni in my heart.”
Sister Mary Eileen O’Brien is a member of the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt. She began her educational career in the Bronx, where she was raised. She taught mathematics at St. Benedict’s School and St. Pius High School before becoming the principal of St. Luke’s School in the South Bronx. In 1977, she joined the staff at what was then Dominican College. She was named president in 1979 and served until 1987 when she left to lead the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt for six years. In 1997, she was chosen to serve again as president of the college and has remained in the position ever since.
Dr. O’Brien is a graduate of what is now Dominican University, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree in adult and higher education from Teachers College of Columbia University and a master’s degree in mathematics from Manhattan College. President O’Brien earned a doctorate in educational administration and supervision from Fordham University in New York.