Presidents of Ohio Dominican
Through her 22 years as president, Sr. Mary Andrew built a reputation for visionary
leadership that is seen in the many advances the college has made. Through her leadership,
the college adopted a Vision 2005 Plan that in many ways is one of her greatest legacies.
It was an ambitious plan for increasing resources, enrollment, and excellence at Ohio
Dominican.
Sister Mary Andrew was one of only a handful of women college presidents when she
took office in 1978 at the age of 39. In her term as president she led the college
through a period of unprecedented growth and has established herself as a national
advocate for higher education and private colleges and universities.
Sister Mary Andrew was born in Zanesville and raised in Newark, Ohio. She graduated
from St. Francis DeSales High School, now Newark Catholic High School, in 1957. Shortly
thereafter, she joined the congregation of the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the
Springs, the founders of Ohio Dominican College. She received her BA in Chemistry from
Ohio Dominican College in 1962. She earned an MS and Ph.D. in chemistry from the
University of California, Berkeley. In 1965, she returned to Ohio Dominican as a
faculty member in chemistry. In 1973, she was elevated to academic dean of the
college. Finally, in 1978, she was named college president after the retirement
of her friend and mentor, Sister Suzanne Uhrhane.
