Jacqueline Grennan Wexler

Jacqueline Grennan Wexler (born Jean Marie Grennan; August 2, 1926 – January 19, 2012), commonly known as Sister J, was an American Catholic religious sister who rose to prominence when she, as President of Webster College, strove to convince the Holy See allow the transferral of the college's ownership to a lay board of trustees.

Webster College became the first Catholic university to legally split from the Catholic Church.

Born in 1926 in Illinois, Wexler grew up on a farm and matriculated at Webster College in 1944.

Jean Marie Grennan was born on August 2, 1926, in Sterling, Illinois, United States.

The youngest child of Edward and Florence (née Dawson) Grennan, she had two sisters, Sue and Rita, and a brother, Jack, who died as a young adult.

She grew up on a 250-acre farm where her parents raised cattle and grew corn and soybeans.

Grennan's parents were devout Catholics who impressed on her the value of education.

She attended St. Mary's Parochial School and Catholic Community High School in Sterling.

She was the first girl in her high school to pursue a general science course rather than study home economics.

After graduating, Grennan attended Webster College in Webster Groves, Missouri.

In 1948, she joined the Sisters of Loretto and went on to teach in Texas and Missouri.

She majored in mathematics and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in June 1948.

Rather than applying for a fellowship to attend Radcliffe College as she had considered, she decided to become a nun, later explaining that she wanted "to make [my] life productive for as many people as possible."

In 1949, she formally entered the Sisters of Loretto, and in December 1950, made her first vows.

She took Jacqueline as her religious name, in memory of her brother Jack, who died of a brain tumor at age 21.

Her parents were ambivalent about her becoming a nun, but respected her decision.

After her first vows, Grennan was sent off to teach in Texas and later Missouri.

During the summers, she studied English at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

After pronouncing her first vows in December 1950, Grennan was sent to teach at Loretto Academy in El Paso, Texas, where she taught mathematics and English for four years.

In 1954, she was transferred to teach at Nerinx Hall High School in Missouri, where she taught mathematics, English, and religion.

In 1957, she graduated with a master's degree from the University of Notre Dame, and in 1959, was transferred to work at Webster College, becoming Vice President in 1960.

She graduated in 1957 with a Master of Arts in English.

She has been awarded 14 honorary degrees, each from a different college or university.

She remained there until 1959, while taking summer classes at the University of Notre Dame.

In 1959, Grennan was brought in to Webster College to serve as assistant to President Sr. Francetta Barberis.

In 1960, she became Vice President for Development, and in 1962, was made Executive Vice President.

In 1965, Wexler succeeded Sister Francetta Barberis as president of the college.

She soon began major reforms, improving curricula, renovating and expanding the campus, and initiating volunteer service programs.

Grennan became President of Webster College in 1965 when President Barberis accepted a new position in Washington, D.C. As president, she worked to address declining enrollment and to improve academic quality.

Recognizing that many Roman Catholic women's colleges were experiencing a downturn in enrollment, she decided to transition Webster to coeducation.

Enrollment soon grew significantly.

Academics were revamped with innovative curricula including "new math," "new social studies," and "new physics," and improved teacher training with a new Master of Arts in Teaching degree.

In addition, Grennan removed the theology course requirements from the curriculum in 1965.

In 1967, Grennan completed Webster College's transition to lay ownership, and she herself left her religious order.

In 1969, she became President of Hunter College in Manhattan, part of the City University of New York.

There, she dealt with student protests and expanded the college's healthcare curriculum and facilities.

She later left her religious order, the Sisters of Loretto, and was President of Hunter College in New York City from 1970 to 1980.

She left Hunter College in 1979, and in 1982, she became President of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, remaining until 1990, when she retired.

She went on to serve as President of the National Conference of Christians and Jews from 1982 to 1990.

She died in 2012 in Orlando, Florida.