Joanne Fink '76
“Since becoming active in the early ’90s, Joanne has been a non-stop advocate for all things CHC,” observes former Alumnae Association president and 2003 Egan Award winner Elaine Bennett Davey ’65.
A class president for more than 20 years, Joanne branched into new volunteerism when she agreed to serve on the College’s Development Office fundraising event committees, beginning with the Women’s Golf Invitational introduced in 2000 for CHC’s 75th Anniversary and continuing for three years. Joanne remained through its transition into the Art Auction Committee, Casino Night Committee and, more recently, Emerald Evening Committee. She also was a key volunteer for the College’s 80th Anniversary Gala (2005) at the National Constitution Center.
In 2003, she was tapped for a term on the Alumnae & Alumni Association Board of Directors. Two years later, she was named president-elect, then president in 2006, where she applied her managerial talents and experience with several Monmouth County, N.J., businesses, including a successful physical therapy practice.
Fertilizing seeds sown by immediate predecessor Suzanne Schulz Dressler ’71 (2004-06), Joanne led the board in “exploring the needs of the Association of her day,” says 2008 Egan Award winner Catherine Lockyer Moulton ’92, who is also a member of the College Board of Directors. “The greatest example of Joanne’s ability to reach beyond the ordinary path of other Association presidents was when she examined the changed profile of the alums and advocated for a new name that would be all-inclusive to those represented, and more easily read.” She appointed an ad hoc committee to the Bylaws Committee, charging them with examining the Association’s name in light of current alumni relations literature and best practices, while respecting the sentiments of decades of CHC alumnae. The two-year effort resulted in a name change to the Alumni Association to better identify today’s CHC.
Joanne further demonstrated her special affection for the College’s senior alumnae by funding the creation and presentation of the Golden Griffins Medallion in 2008, now a College-sponsored ceremony conducted for each year’s 50th reunion class.
Former Association president Regina Maxwell Schwille ’65 served on the Association Bylaws Committee when Joanne returned to chair the second of two years focused on “over-hauling the Bylaws to define what the board needs to be in today’s world, including facilitating its movement to functional committees” —proactive with measurable objectives. “The meetings were sometimes intense,” Jeanie recalls, but with Joanne effectively managing “committee time, focus, and energy.”
Classmates and other alumnae remain genuine admirers for many reasons:
- “Joanne challenges alums to strive to do better, participate more, and to voice their opinions.”
Maryanne L. Walsh ’98, ’02 SGS
- “From my days working in the Development Office and the events I attend strictly as an alumna, I can’t remember a single one where Joanne was not a part of it.”
Fran Vorsky ’05, ’07 SGS
- “Joanne throws her passion and enthusiasm into any endeavor to which she commits herself…. She is inspiring to alums especially to those around her time at CHC.”
Margaret Fleming, SSJ ’56, former Dean of Students
- “As a Sister of Saint Joseph working at the College, I truly have been inspired by Joanne’s faithful and passionate living of the mission of CHC. I am proud to be her classmate…”
Sheila Kennedy, SSJ, Ph.D. ’76
- “Joanne’s intelligence, business acuity, energy, vision and tireless enthusiasm have been a huge asset to the College and the Alumni Association.”
Elaine Bennett Davey ’65
The Alumni Association of Chestnut Hill College is proud to present its 2012 Eleanore Dolan Egan Award for Outstanding Service to Chestnut Hill College to Joanne Fink ’76 for her steadfast volunteerism and leadership in advancing the interests of her alma mater.
