Misto Gatehouse dedication honors Sister Leona’s service, vision of mercy

The University community will gather during Fall Festival Weekend to celebrate the dedication of Misto Gatehouse in honor of Dr. Leona Misto, RSM, vice president for mission integration, for her three decades of service, generosity and commitment to integrating the mission of the Sisters of Mercy on Salve Regina’s campus.

The building naming ceremony will be held at 11:45 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. The Gatehouse is the former gardener’s cottage for Catherine Lorillard Wolfe’s Vinland estate. Located at 28 Ochre Point Ave., the historic building currently houses the University’s Office of Arts and Sciences.

Sister Leona has served the campus community for nearly 35 years in numerous capacities. In 2001, she was appointed as Salve Regina’s first vice president for mission integration, an office formed to inculcate the mission’s basic principles into the academic curriculum, student-centered programs and institutional operations. During the last 13 years in this position, her work has supported not only the core values of mercy, but also the shared vision of graduates who positively impact the intellectual, spiritual and cultural lives of their respective communities.

“The naming of this building is a proclamation of how much the University values commitment, compassion and community, the core of mercy as exemplified by the life of Sister Leona Misto,” said Chancellor M. Therese Antone, RSM. Sister Therese will offer remarks at the ceremony along with President Jane Gerety, RSM and graduates Robert Gondola Jr. ’06 and Ronald Atkins ’83 (M), ’96 (Ph.D.).

Most recently, Sister Leona spearheaded a two-year project to explore 2,000 years of Catholic intellectual tradition, resulting in a 40-page collection of faculty reflections on the topic that has been shared with the University community.

“Sister Leona’s vision of mercy education embraces the spiritual and the intellectual, seeking to create a community of faith as well as a community of learning,” Sister Therese said. “She has propelled Salve Regina into the forefront of Catholic higher education in the actualization of the mission statement among the members of the University community. Her well planned and effectively executed activities around mission integration have laid a foundation that helps to ensure that University values will continue to be rooted in those mercy traditions that are the heart and soul of Salve Regina University.”

Prior to her appointment as vice president for mission integration, Sister Leona served as a member of the faculty, dean of campus ministry and director of graduate extension studies, among other leadership positions.

She has a B.A. in mathematics/education from Salve Regina, an M.A. in religious studies from Providence College, an M.A.T. in mathematics from Rhode Island College, an Ed.D. in higher education from Nova Southeastern University and a certificate in educational management from Harvard University.