Father Kevin Mackin has some big shoes to fill at Mount St. MaryCollege in Newburgh. In this case, the shoes seem a good fit. Â
President of Siena College for 11 years, Mackin was lured to the Hudson Valley from the Albany area to take over for Sister Ann Sakac, who retired in June after 30 years of service. Under her tenure, Sakac saw the college triple its number of students and undertake tremendous campus infrastructure growth. The Mount, founded in 1959, also witnessed the introduction and implementation of technology-based learning, replacing typewriters, steno pads and mimeographs with the chip-driven tools of today.
Mackin is well versed in technology and revels in religious philosophy ”“ the Catholic otherworldly passion for the “fruit of the vine and work of human hands” as allegory for the 21st century. He”™s got a wonderful ”“ even God-given ”“ backdrop in which to concentrate upon his mission: the shores of the Hudson River and the hills and dales of the valley through which the river flows.
Unlike Sakac, Mackin will continue to teach while managing daily presidential duties at his new school, just as he did at Siena.Â
“I can”™t stay away from teaching and love the interaction with students,” he said, smiling broadly. “Historical studies from the Old Testament to the New Testament, focusing on Christian orthodoxy, will be part of my curriculum for the incoming class.”
A better understanding of religions ”“ his own Roman Catholic faith and Judaism, including Orthodox Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism ”“ was sharpened by his sabbatical before coming to Mount St. Mary, taking him through China, India, Israel, Africa and Europe.
“It was a great learning experience: the cultures, the religious beliefs and the mores of every country differ, yet there was a commonality to all ”“ our humanity.”
Mackin plans to build on Sakac”™s legacy and to guide the school through “Habits of the heart ”“ which means caring for each other on a personal and human level ”“ and our college”™s calling: great students, faculty, program, facilities and a distinctive mission.”
The Mount offers 50-plus undergraduate programs in a variety of arts and sciences disciplines. The college also offers master’s degrees in education, business administration, and nursing. Enrollment is about 2,600.
Mackin”™s gregarious personality may catch some off guard. After three decades, most students, residents and bank presidents were used to Sakac”™s shy-but-friendly style of doing business. Both presidents, however, share common traits of desiring the best for Mount St. Mary and the love that goes into leading its students into the future.
As for Brooklyn-born Mackin, his calling to the priesthood just came naturally: From his Irish roots, Mackin served as an altar boy at Good Shepherd Church in Marine Park, and says he was inclined to become a Maryknoll priest. “But,” said Mackin, “providentially, I became a Franciscan.” Â Â
Macklin earned his undergraduate degree at St. Bonaventure University in Olean and his master”™s degree in history from SienaCollege. Providentially, as Mackin might say, both are Franciscan colleges.
Mackin”™s 11-year stint at Siena brought him close to the NanotechCollege at SUNY Albany. He was also involved with the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce, which heads the Tech ValleyHudson Valley. So be prepared to see Mackin becoming very much involved in bringing more technology ”“ along with a healthy touch of humanity ”“ to the region. initiative for the
Mackin made his first public speaking appearance as the school”™s new president at the Orange County Chamber of Commerce breakfast on July 15 at Newburgh”™s Ramada Inn. Filled to the brim with businessmen and members of the Major Irene Trowell-Harris Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, who sponsored the morning munch, Mackin was at ease with everyone who came his way: chatty, engaging and witty.
From appearances, which are not always deceiving, look for a new style of management at Mount St. Mary that will hold fast to the same basics Sr. Sakac brought to the school: a place where the emphasis on faith, the value of the human being and integrity are ingrained with the learning that goes on in its classrooms.
Joel Mounty, owner of Mountco L.L.C. in White Plains and  one of the leading bidders for the Camp LaGuardia property in the towns of Chester and Blooming Grove, hopes to bring a little bit of the Mount further south: His company is in the preliminary stages of talks with the college  to bring a satellite campus to the 258-acre parcel that has been dormant since the county bought the former homeless shelter  from New York City in mid-2006.
“We”™re just in the talking stages,” said both Mounty and Mackin.
A second school, Greece-based Aristotelian University, has also expressed interest in the Camp LaGuardia site.
