It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of our dear friend Dr. Marylouise Fennell, RSM, on October 12. Known as “Weezie,” she and I worked closely together on many, many projects throughout our long friendship, including co-editing 18 books and co-authoring eight monographs and approximately 150 articles on higher education.
She was a mentor, counselor, search consultant, and consultant to presidents, administrators, and boards of trustees of colleges and universities, and for-profit businesses that serve the non-profit sector.
A former president of Carlow University, Weezie served for over 30 years as senior counsel for the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) in Washington, D.C., For 15 years, I chaired the CIC New Presidents Program, a program that she directed. She was a partner in the search firm Hyatt-Fennell Executive Search Consultants.
Weezie received her degrees in education and counselor education from the Diocesan Sisters College (Bachelor of Arts), University of Hartford (Master of Education and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies), and Boston University (Doctor of Education).
She served as the senior counsel for The Council of Independent Colleges and the chief consultant for the Association of Private Universities of Central America. She assisted the Central American Universities in the establishment of an accreditation system and is the author of the Central American Accreditation Guidelines for Excellence in Education. Dr. Fennell was co-founder (with me) and served for 15 years as executive director of the Interamerican Consortium of Higher Education (CIDES). She was a consultant to numerous associations, colleges, and universities.
She will be missed.
