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June 19, 2019, Miami, Florida – Sister Jeanne O’Laughlin, OP, is being remembered in South Florida for her dedicated service as President of Barry College – later University – from 1981 to 2004. She was instrumental in increasing enrollment from 1,750 to more than 7,000 and for leading the growth of the school in terms of programs and buildings.
Sister Jeanne was also remembered for her extensive involvement in the Miami-Dade County community and in higher education. She was the first woman to serve on the Orange Bowl Committee, and was involved in Miami’s recovery from Hurricane Andrew; in the homeless crisis both in Florida and in Michigan; and as mediator in the 1999-2000 Elián González custody battle between his father in Cuba and his relatives in Miami. Sister Jeanne’s powerful life and her death at the age of 90 on June 18, 2019, brought extensive coverage on the Barry University website, in The Miami Herald, in The New York Times, Patch.com, and on television stations 4 and 10 in Miami. Sister Jeanne was recently featured on the "Life Well Lived" segment of TODAY.
Sister Jeanne’s Prayer Vigil will be held at 7:00 p.m. Monday, June 24, 2019, in St. Catherine Chapel at the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse in Adrian, Michigan, and her funeral will take place in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 25, 2019. Both events will be live streamed. Barry University will also hold a memorial service at a later date. Click here to view Sister Jeanne's obituary.
March 21, 2016, Miami Shores, Florida – Barry University students Alana Hardy, Selena Pierre Jacques, and Sha’novia Warren recently went out of their way to be kind to others on campus and in the wider community. Each wanted to be “a model of ethical behavior, integrity, and good citizenship.”
The three students had taken a Peace Pledge. At the start of Barry’s 40 Days of Peace observance, each student pledged “to treat others with the respect with which I wish to be treated…and to contribute in any way I can to create the ‘beloved community’ envisioned by Dr. [Martin Luther] King,” the late civil rights leader.
Among the dozens of students who took the pledge, six stood out: Alana, Selena, and Sha’novia; two other Barry students, Paola Montenegro and Quayneshia Smith; and Jessica Darring, a St. Thomas University student. They each performed an act of peace every day for 40 days, documenting what they did and how they felt. A psychology major at St. Thomas, Jessica got involved after Christian Mesa, a Barry Service Corps fellow, shared the opportunity with her.
“It’s a good thing Christian made me sign up so I could be part of this event,” Jessica said. “I look forward to participating in future…initiatives. I love what you are all doing and the fact that I can be a community member and don’t have to be a Barry student to participate.”
All six students received certificates and souvenirs from the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) during the closing ceremony of 40 Days of Peace, held at the Peace Pole in front of the Cor Jesu Chapel on Barry’s main campus in Miami Shores.
Those in attendance heard event organizer Andres Quevedo thank the students for living up to the pledge. A CCSI program coordinator, Andres also urged the students to maintain their commitment to peace and to remain good role models even after they graduate.
Barry University observed 40 Days of Peace from January 18, 2016, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, to February 26. Students were encouraged to sign the Peace Pledge and to perform daily acts of peace recommended by Service for Peace, a national organization that has played a leadership role in promoting Dr. King’s vision of the “beloved community.”
On the list were the following acts of peace: “cease all negative words about or towards other people”; “honestly and genuinely compliment two strangers”; “say thank you to at least two people”; and “take a deep breath if you’re angry, and wait to speak more peacefully.” Also on the list were these three suggestions: “perform one random act of kindness”; “help a stranger in need”; and “let go of a grudge.”
– Submitted by Barry University from the March 14, 2016 CCSI Newsletter