On a mission

Salve president shares school’s achievements, goals

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Background: A native Rhode Islander, born in Central Falls, Sister
Antone has served as principal of a coeducational secondary school and director
of finance and secondary education for the Sisters of Mercy in Rhode Island
and Central America. She has served as faculty member, director of development,
vice president/institutional advancement, and executive vice president for corporate
affairs and advancement at Salve Regina University.

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Salve Regina University; master’s
degree from Villanova University; Doctor of Education from Harvard University;
and completed the senior executive program at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology’s Sloan School of Management.

Residence: Newport

Q. Can you describe Salve’s mission – and has it changed over the years?

A. It’s not that the basic mission, in terms of the traditions of
the Sisters of Mercy – in relation to Salve Regina – has changed, but several
years ago we put a focused effort into revisiting the mission and restating
the mission in a different fashion. The most meaningful thing was that we did
it in a way that cut through the whole university community; that included our
graduates, members of our faculty, our staff and our board of trustees. The
resulting statement came out of workshops and focus groups, spanning a two-year
period. As president, I want everything we do at our university to flow from
that mission. It puts everyone into the mind frame of: Why are we here? What
are we trying to accomplish? The focus is more on knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom
really comes from the proper use of knowledge and applying your life experiences.
There is something unique about Salve Regina in the sense that we do try to
put the stamp on our students – of them knowing that whatever community they
are in, that there is an obligation for them to make a positive contribution
to their community. Whether that be in the area of social justice or service
or whatever. … I think from the beginning, we have been successful at that.
It is one of the underlying traditions of the Sisters of Mercy – that is, making
a difference.

Q. Do you recommend all companies or organizations follow a mission statement?

A. Absolutely. The mistake some people make is that they go through
the process and come up with a great statement and put it on the wall … but
we have gone far beyond that. Once the mission statement became consensus, we
went into our 10-year planning process. Plans have evolved out of departments
and have bubbled up to the mission, rather than me, as president, saying, ‘This
is what we are going to do.’ Consistent to the whole approach on the mission
statement is that we continue to have mission-focused workshops. Every new employee
goes through a process of learning about the mission and we have mission-effectiveness
statements for the faculty, the staff, the students and the board of trustees
so they have benchmarks as they go along.

Q. Where is the school at in terms of enrollment – and what percentage
of your students live on campus?

A. We have created more housing here on campus. Ten years ago, we
housed about 400 students. We now house 1,150 students on campus. The consolidation
of that number of students, the full-time undergraduate students … people perceive
that as growth in terms of full-time undergraduate enrollment. And we have grown
in terms of full-time undergraduate enrollment. Our total enrollment has remained
in the area of 2,200 to 2,300 students. Our focus of making more housing available
to students has really worked. The awareness of Salve Regina is now there and
when people become aware of something, they may think it’s bigger. It’s not
that we’re that much larger. But we have a larger presence in the community.

A. We have 400 employees. After the Navy, the hospital is Newport’s
largest employer and we’re next. So our contributions are significant.

A. We had 4,500 applications last year. So you’re talking about that
number of people visiting the campus. Additionally, there are our sporting events
and special weekends that we have. A significant number of people who come and
stay in Newport – and most people who come to our campus make it an overnight
– they are spending money in the restaurants.

A. If you don’t see higher education as a positive economic force in
the community, you are making a very big mistake, because therein lies the future
of the community. Some of us have a tendency to look at things in short time
frames. We say: ‘Oh, if my taxes would go down next year I would feel better
about it.’ But you have to think 10 years beyond. Where is the work force behind
you – and what kind of a work force do you want? Isn’t it better to do something
now so that we have an educated work force that is productive, that is concerned
about the community and will contribute to the community, not only in economic
ways but quality of life ways. That’s what education does.

Q. Many Rhode Islanders, I would think, continue to think of Salve Regina
as a nursing school. How do you describe the school itself?

A. People who think of us right away for the nursing education remember
that the first several classes here were all women. We were the first institution
in the state of Rhode Island to put in a four-year baccalaureate nursing program.
That stamp is still there. And the nursing program has always been a high-quality,
challenging program. We have a more than sufficient number of applicants. However,
and every school is experiencing this, if we said we wanted to double the enrollment,
we could double the enrollment. Whether we could get the clinical placements
and faculty are the issues. Everyone is experiencing that right now. As a profession,
it is wonderful. But part of what has happened is that other professions have
opened up for women. Education and nursing were always the traditional routes
that women went. Now, we are playing other roles. We have a Salve Regina graduate
(Janet Robinson) who is president of the New York Times. Janet taught for 10
years and she credits the education she received here with allowing her to be
flexible with her career choices. I think that’s wonderful.

Q. You have a program – the Holistic Counseling program – that is seeing
more businesspeople incorporate this kind of training into their work life.
Talk about that for a minute.

A. The Holistic Counseling program here is the only one of its kind
on the East Coast. We have people who actually fly in from places like Maryland,
and so forth, to take the course once each week. They find it valuable and helpful
for the workplace. There is growing demand for it and we are responding to that.
The speed at which we are operating at every institution – whether it be a nonprofit
or a profit – with the technologies and the global way of doing things today
… everyone wants you to make a decision very quickly. Some of the humanistic
and holistic approaches to things tend to get lost – that’s not good in the
workplace. We are still human beings. We need to be responsive to one another
in some of the basic human needs that we have. This program is helping managers
to be much more sensitive and much more responsive to those people with whom
they work.

A. It was a different time. I wore the traditional Sisters of Mercy
habit. People didn’t always feel comfortable with us. It was a very different
experience. In terms of differences, I think in the local schools you are much
more involved in the family situation as teachers. At the university level,
while you do have family involved in activities, there isn’t as much of a direct
relationship. Parents have sent their young people away to school. Part of their
education is to learn how to make it on their own. The level of involvement
is really different. It’s nice to work with the students. They make mistakes.
But we’ve all learned through our own mistakes.

Q. Do you worry about the rising cost of a college education?

A. Very much so. I think that as a society we have to really think
about whether the four-year experience is necessary for all of us. We have certain
values on some things, and de-valued others, that we probably should not have
done. The cost – whether it is a two-year program, a four-year program or a
certificate program – is of grave concern. It’s not that we should give the
whole thing to government … giving it to government is giving it to the people,
and, in the end, we all have to pay for it. But we all have to be able to live.
I can’t bring a faculty member in and say, ‘I wish I could pay you $50,000,
but I don’t want to charge too much tuition so I’m going to pay you $30,000
and I hope you can feed your family.’ The whole economic level that we’re getting
at … we’re part of what’s happening. I can remember people buying a brand new
car for $1,500. You can’t do that today. So, it’s all relative, but it is a
cost that is very much in front of people now more than ever. You know, after
World War II, with the veterans’ benefits, so many more of us are educated.
We wouldn’t want any less for our children.

Q. What do you do for fun?

A. I play golf.

Q. Do you play well?

A. It depends on whom you speak to. I also try to swim a half-mile
or more three times a week. I lift weights in the gym. And I try to walk.