Celebrating Our Jubilarians: Sister of Charity Joanne Burrows Celebrates Golden Jubilee

Born and raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., Sister Joanne Burrows attended Holy Redeemer School in Kensington, Maryland, and graduated from Immaculata Preparatory High School in 1970. There, she was introduced to the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, who "shaped the foundation" of her faith. After graduating from the University of Maryland in 1976, Sister Joanne's faith was reawakened as she watched her mother walk to 11:30 a.m. Mass from her bedroom window.

"One day, I got up and followed her," she recalls. "That began my journey toward religious life and the Sisters of Charity."

Sister Joanne had visited Emmitsburg, Maryland, many times during the first two decades of her life and attended the 1975 commemoration of Elizabeth Ann Seton's canonization as a saint there. Although she could envision herself joining the Sisters of Providence who had taught her in high school, she found herself "searching for my future - for meaning and to make a difference" as a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati.

She shared, "Paraphrasing a line in The Little Prince, 'A mystery so great dare not be denied.' I could not shake the idea, so I decided to give it a try, and I have been seeking that mystery ever since."

In her early years as a Sister of Charity, Sister Joanne served in pastoral ministry at St. Matthew and St. Michael parishes in Cincinnati before beginning a decade of ministry at the College of Mount St. Joseph, now Mount St. Joseph University. She served in the admissions department from 1979-1980, the marketing department from 1980-1983, and as assistant dean of students and director of residence life from 1983-1988.

She earned a master's degree in philosophical and systematic theology from the Graduate Theological Union and Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, in 1990, followed by a doctorate in higher education from The Ohio State University in Columbus in 1998.

Following her doctoral studies, Sister Joanne served at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, as an assistant professor and department chair from 1998-2002. She then served as vice president of academic affairs at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana from 2002-2006.

In 2006, Sister Joanne became president of Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa, a position she held until 2019, making her the university's second-longest-serving president. That year, she was elected to the congregational council of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and returned to the Motherhouse campus.

Since completing her leadership term in 2023, Sister Joanne has retired from full-time ministry. She continues to share her commitment to the Community and Catholic higher education by volunteering in the Sisters of Charity Spirituality Center and serving on several boards of trustees, including those of Mount St. Joseph University, Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science, Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, SC Ministry Foundation and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

Sister Joanne remains a strong advocate for Catholic higher education, believing "deeply in the value of Catholic colleges and universities and the need to maintain their presence in the higher education landscape."

As she celebrates her Golden Jubilee, Sister Joanne reflects on the mystery that first called her to religious life 50 years ago. "My task each day is to grow more deeply into the undeniable mystery that called me 50 years ago and to know more fully that it is through God, with God, and in God that I live, move, and have my being."