Mission and Ministry Office Named in Memory of Alumna, Trustee and Banking Leader

An office in Dominican University’s Mission and Ministry now bears the name of an alumna who gave back to the university in many ways through the decades. 

A small ceremony was held June 8 to dedicate the Office of the Vice President of Mission and Ministry in memory of M. Catherine “Cathie” Ryan ’61. A plaque with Ryan’s name now hangs outside the office in Mazzuchelli Hall. 

Cathie Ryan served on the Dominican University Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2013 and was involved in many leadership roles in support of the university. She helped create the Rosary College Women’s Board, served as vice chair of Dominican’s Heart and Mind campaign in the early 2000s, was an advisory board member of the Sinsinawa Dominicans, and served on many grant-making foundation boards. 

Cathie also helped to establish the Mabel and Joseph Crowley Scholarship Fund, named in memory of her parents. It will now be known as the Ryan-Crowley Scholarship Fund. 

In her professional life away from Dominican, Cathie worked in the banking industry, spending 47 years with Bank of America until her retirement as senior vice president. She managed trusts and endowments, and matched philanthropists with meaningful causes. 

“As a woman in banking, Cathie was a trailblazer and she was one of a kind,” said Sara Acosta, vice president of University Advancement. “Everyone who knew her was touched by her grace and her elegance, her smarts and her wisdom. And her devotion to Dominican and the Sinsinawa Sisters cannot be replicated.”