Rosalie M. Mirenda, president emerita of Neumann University, nurse, professor, and mentor, has died at 85

Rosalie M. Mirenda, 85, of Mantua, president emerita of Neumann University, former nurse, professor, dean, and mentor, died Saturday, May 13, of cancer at her home.

In more than four decades at Neumann, Dr. Mirenda served as president from 1996 to 2017 and earlier as a nursing instructor, professor, dean of the nursing division, and vice president for academic affairs. Among other achievements during her tenure, the school attained university status in 2009, expanded its academic and athletic programs, added numerous facilities, tripled enrollment, and became a residential campus.

She and her husband, Tony, a longtime university ambassador, met Pope Francis in 2015 and served as moral and spiritual models for students and colleagues. In 2009, Neumann officials named the new Mirenda Center for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development in their honor.

“Rosalie served students with passion and committed herself to living the mission and values of Neumann University,” Neumann president Chris Everett Domes said in an online tribute. He noted her “steadfast faith, distinguished character, and tireless service,” and said her “legacy and impact on this university and the church will be felt for years to come.”

Engaging and eternally optimistic, Dr. Mirenda touched nearly every corner of life at Neumann from 1973 until her retirement in 2017. She updated its nursing curriculum, raised funds for student scholarships and campus construction, increased endowments for new programs, and represented the administration with a unique blend of humor, empathy, determination, and authenticity.

“Her leadership of the university and welcoming spirit made Neumann a wonderful experience for me,” a former student said in an online tribute. Neumann trustee James Delaney praised Dr. Mirenda in 2016 as “a tireless advocate and savvy visionary for Neumann University while never taking her eye off its Catholic Franciscan identity.”

Jonathan Peri, president at Manor College and former vice president at Neumann, said: “She really cared about people.”

Dr. Mirenda was especially adept at community outreach and helped create the Drexel Neumann Academy in 2007 after Chester’s last Catholic school closed. She wrote heartfelt letters to the editor of The Inquirer, was chair of the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary’s Task Force on College, a Catholic education committee member for the U.S. Conference of Bishops, and board director for the 2015 World Meeting of Families.

“I think that we should be an asset to the community that we are in,” Dr. Mirenda told The Inquirer in 2008. “Education is our business, our gift, our asset, so sharing it with others is a reasonable thing to do.”

She was a member of many organizations, including the American Association of University Women, and won dozens of awards and honorary degrees, such as the 2016 Benemerenti Medal from Pope Francis.

Dr. Mirenda started as a nursing instructor at Neumann in 1973 when it was still called Our Lady of Angels College. She rose to professor and dean of the nursing division in 1986 and became vice president for academic affairs in 1990.

Earlier, she was a nurse and instructor at St. Agnes Hospital in South Philadelphia and Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital in Darby. Her daughter, Rosalie DelleMonache, said Dr. Mirenda’s motto was: “A prayerful life is a hope-filled life.”

Rosalina Mary Ghilardi was born Sept. 22, 1937. She grew up in South Philadelphia, was the daughter and sister of Italian immigrants, and spoke Italian until she entered elementary school.

She graduated from John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School, earned a nursing degree from Villanova University in 1959, a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978, and a doctorate in nursing from Widener University in 1992.

She met Anthony Mirenda on Frank Sinatra Night at the Sons of Italy lodge in South Philadelphia, and they married in 1961. They had sons Anthony Jr. and John, and daughter Rosalie, and lived in Folcroft, Lansdowne, and Middletown Township in Delaware County before moving to Mantua a few years ago.

» READ MORE: Neumann's Rosalie M. Mirenda was one of the longest-serving college presidents in the Philadelphia region

Dr. Mirenda made memorable gravy and meatballs, greeted every party guest individually, and constantly pored over spiritual writings. She adored her grandchildren, and her faith grew ever stronger even as her health declined.

“Everywhere my mother goes,” her daughter said in a retirement video tribute, “no matter what the situation, no matter who she is with, she brings love.”

In addition to her husband, children and grandchildren, Dr. Mirenda is survived by other relatives. A sister died earlier.

A funeral Mass is to be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 17, at Church of Incarnation, 240 Main St., Mantua, N.J. 08051.

Donations in her name may be made to the Church of Incarnation, 240 Main St., Mantua, N.J. 08051; the Mirenda Family Scholarship Fund at Neumann University, 1 Neumann Dr., Aston, Pa. 19014; and the South Jersey Scholarship fund for Catholic Education, 631 Market St., Camden, N.J. 08102.