St. John Fisher President Dr. Katherine Keough Passes Away
September 28, 2004
From a St. John Fisher College Release
PITTSFORD, N.Y., September 27, 2004—Dr. Katherine E. Keough, President of St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY, and former Director and Chairman of the Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Board of New York, passed away Saturday evening of complications from her battle with bone cancer.
Born in New York City to immigrant parents, Dr. Keough was a first-generation American whose passion in life was education. She held various teaching and administrative positions in the public schools before accepting a position with William Paterson College in New Jersey. From there, she accepted a position within the Office of Overseas Schools as the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel at the largest overseas school operation in the world, the Tehran American School in Iran.
In 1979, Dr. Keough’s husband, William F. Keough, was among the 52 Americans taken hostage in the American Embassy in Tehran and held for 444 days during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. During this ordeal, Dr. Keough was the President of the Family Liaison Action Group, Inc. She was a key figure in maintaining unity among the families of the hostages and the U.S. government during this international confrontation. Her exceptional leadership during this difficult period for the nation was recognized by both Presidents Carter and Reagan, as well as by the U.S. Department of State.
Following the death of her husband, Dr. Keough held positions of increasing responsibility at Queens College (CUNY); Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio; and Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. In 1996, she was named President of St. John Fisher College. During Dr. Keough’s tenure at Fisher, she was instrumental in the financial turnaround of the institution.
Her leadership style was a unique combination of risk-taking, empowerment, and rapid change. She brought to the higher educational environment a business orientation and a sense of accountability. Her revitalization of the academic offerings at both the graduate and undergraduate levels accelerated the academic excellence and national ranking of this College. In each year of her presidency, Dr. Keough’s vision and action-oriented leadership led to steady improvement in every key financial and statistical metric that the College uses to measure its success.
Dr. Keough was a familiar face in the Rochester community and beyond. In 2002, she was named a Director of the Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and, in 2004, she became the Chair of that same organization. This appointment was particularly meaningful to Dr. Keough in that it afforded her the opportunity to focus on the link between corporate ethics and the international integrity of the U.S. monetary system. For many years, this topic was of great interest to Dr. Keough and was most recently expressed in the College’s establishment, with the Society of Financial Service Professionals, of the Rochester Business Ethics Award, which recognizes local companies that exemplify high standards of ethical behavior in their everyday business practices and in response to crises or challenges.
Dr. Keough was the recipient of numerous civic leadership awards, most notably the prestigious ATHENA® Award from the Women’s Council of the Rochester Business Alliance and the Town of Pittsford 2003 Citizen of the Year Award. She is also credited with creating the Service Scholars Program, which received the President’s Community Volunteer Award, the highest national honor for volunteering; the Fannie & Sam Constantino First Generation Scholarship Program; and the Science Scholars Program, designed to recruit academically superior first-year students in the science majors. Dr. Keough was a long-standing member of the Board of Directors of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides educational grants to children of U.S. Special Operations forces killed in the line of duty.
Dr. Keough was predeceased by her husband, Dr. William F. Keough, Jr. She is survived by her son Steven Keough of Minnesota; daughters Kathryn and Allyssa of Vermont; a brother in Virginia; and numerous grandchildren and other relatives.
Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, September 28, 2004, from 1:30-4:00 p.m. and from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at Miller Funeral Home, 3325 Winton Road South, Rochester, NY, 14623.
A Mass of Resurrection will be held on Wednesday, September 29, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Louis Church in Pittsford, NY. Bishop Matthew Clark of the Diocese of Rochester will preside at the Mass. Internment will be in Waltham, Massachusetts, where Dr. Keough will be buried next to her late husband. Donations in Dr. Keough’s name may be directed to the First Generation Scholarship Program at St. John Fisher College, Attn: Advancement Office, 3690 East Avenue, Rochester, NY, 14618.