Dominican Sisters Stories

Ecologist
Sister Carol Coston, OP

Working for the common good has been a hallmark of Sister Carol Coston’s life. She presently directs the Congregation’s Office of Permaculture, which is working to create and maintain a sustainable ecosystem on the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ campus. She previously co-directed Santuario Sisterfarm in Texas, which was dedicated to cultivating biodiversity and cultural diversity and living in right relationship with the whole Earth community.

Sister Carol was the founding director of both NETWORK, the Washington, D.C.-based Catholic social justice lobby, and Partners for the Common Good, an award-winning alternative investment fund.

In 2001, President Bill Clinton honored her with the Presidential Citizens Medal. The College of St. Catherine also awarded her the Alexandrine Medal for her leadership and contributions to social justice, women, and economic equity. 

Educator
Sister Peg Albert, OP, PhD

Sister Peg Albert served as an associate professor of social work, counselor and vice president at Barry University before arriving at Siena Heights as its 10th President in 2006. Under her leadership, Siena Heights has seen unprecedented growth, including the establishment of nursing, football and band programs.

Her student- and mission-centered approach has included physical improvements to the residence halls, athletic facilities and student union. SHU’s On Higher Ground Campaign raised more than $19 million — surpassing its original $13 million goal. Siena Heights was also named a “Best College to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

Scientist
Sister Therese Mary Foote, OP, RPh

After 25 years as a math and science teacher, including three years on the high school faculty at St. Joseph Academy in Adrian, Sister Therese Mary’s professional life took a very different path.

Already the holder of a master of science degree in biology from the University of Notre Dame, she went back to school and earned a degree in pharmacy from the University of Michigan. She then spent the next three decades as a registered pharmacist, first at the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ on-campus pharmacy, Dominican Pharmacy, and then in drug stores in the Detroit metropolitan area. For the last sixteen years of her active ministry, she was a pharmacist at the Cherry Hill Pharmacy in Dearborn, Michigan.