Biography of Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ
Sister Joan Lescinki, CSJ, PhD, was selected as the 13th President of St. Ambrose University on Dec. 19, 2006. Sister Lescinski assumed the presidency on Aug. 6, 2007, and will be formally inaugurated into office on Oct. 5, 2007.
From 1998 to 2007, the 60-year-old Lescinski served as president of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, the oldest Catholic liberal arts women’s college in the country. Over the past nine years she has led the college, located in the town of the same name in Indiana, to record gains in enrollment, has facilitated the development of institutional strategic and master plans, and introduced several undergraduate and two new graduate academic programs. The college has invested $10 million in campus facilities and experienced a significant increase in its number of donors. Sister Lescinski led the most ambitious capital campaign in SMWC’s history with $25 million raised, exceeding their campaign goal by 20 percent.
Among the positions Sister Lescinski held prior to assuming the SMWC presidency were vice president for academic affairs and dean at Fontbonne University, St. Louis, Mo., from 1993 to 1998, and associate dean of academic affairs at Avila University, Kansas City, Mo., from 1991 to 1993. Sister Lescinski has taught English at the college level since 1974.
A native of Albany, N.Y., Sister Lescinski earned a doctorate in English literature from Brown University in 1981. She received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English literature from the College of Saint Rose in 1974 and 1970. Sister Lescinski holds certificates in Fund Raising Management and Educational Management from Indiana and Harvard universities, respectively. She has been a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis, Mo., for the past 41 years.
Sister Lescinski is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Council of Independent Colleges Presidents’ Association, the Midwest Modern Language Association, and the Association for Religion and Intellectual Life. She has presented and published numerous papers and articles; has been an invited participant at the Oxford Roundtable and engaged in several consultations sponsored by the PEW Charitable Trusts; and currently serves on the board of trustees of the College of Saint Rose.
Among her personal pursuits Sister Lescinski enjoys gardening, painting and skydiving.