Sister Irene Duchesneau, RHSJ, long-time leader of Fanny Allen hospital, was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters at the Saint Michael's College 2009 commencement on May 14.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was featured speaker at the ceremonies held in the Ross Sports Center for the 516 graduating seniors earning bachelor’s degrees and 50 graduate students who were present, earning master’s degrees, and their families, together totaling some 3,000 people at the ceremonies.
Saint Michael’s VP for human resources Michael New sponsored Sister Irene at the ceremony and said, “Sister Irene’s visionary leadership has made and kept Fanny Allen a thoroughly humane center of exceptional health care for us and for all Vermont through turbulent times.”
The citation said further, “Described again and again as a “dynamo” by her staff and patients, by political leaders and decision-makers, Sister Irene has never wavered in her focus on providing health care to those in need. She is well-known for asking, “How does this help the poor or disenfranchised?”
Because of her visionary leadership, Fanny Allen has maintained its identity while entering into a fruitful relationship with the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont. Sister Irene serves now as Executive Director of the Fanny Allen Foundation and as President of the Fanny Allen Corporation.
Sister Irene’s nursing career has included teaching clinical nursing, directing nursing programs, and administering hospitals in Vermont and Montreal. She presided over the Vermont State Board of Nursing from 1964 to 1969 and over the Vermont League for Nursing from 1965-68. She served the Vermont Hospital Personnel Association as secretary-treasurer from 1982-88, and chaired the Catholic Health Association of Canada from 1993-94. She is currently a member of the Fletcher-Allen Health Care Board of Directors and the Governor’s Task Force on Hunger in Vermont.