St. Joseph’s remembers Sister Mary Florence Burns — ‘a wonderful mentor’

The St. Joseph’s University, New York community is remembering Sister Mary Florence Burns — a teacher, leader and trusted adviser for nearly 80 years — as “a wonderful mentor” who provided wise counsel and inspired generations of students and colleagues.

Burns died on July 23 at the age of 100. A 1946 graduate of the institution, she became a guiding voice at St. Joseph’s, serving under six presidents and becoming part of the very DNA of the university.

Current President Donald Boomgaarden said he considered Burns a “wonderful mentor who provided wise counsel throughout the challenging times we have faced in recent years.”

Earlier this year, the university marked Burns’ 100th birthday by inviting the campus community to perform acts of service in her honor — 100 gestures of kindness were collected and presented to her in April, the university said.

She returned to the campus in 1950 to teach English. For nearly two decades, she taught courses in medieval literature, Dante, Shakespeare and 18th‑century English literature.

In 1969, she was appointed academic dean and later became the institution’s vice president for academic affairs, advising Presidents Sister George Aquin O’Connor and Sister Elizabeth Hill through milestones that included the St. Joseph’s move to coeducation and expansion to Long Island.

Burns Hall on the Brooklyn campus was named for her in 2003, and in 2014 the university created the S. Mary Florence Burns Award for Teaching Excellence and Impact. The honor recognizes faculty members who reflect her dedication to students and scholarship.

“It’s especially meaningful to me that the award is in honor of S. Burns, whom I have deep respect for,” longtime St. Joseph’s Brooklyn Campus professor Raymond D’Angelo said in a university report when he received the honor in 2023. “She supported my development as a teacher since my early days on campus.”

The university noted that Burns’ influence will remain part of St. Joseph’s identity through the programs she helped shape, the leaders she advised, and the award that bears her name — a reminder of her lifelong commitment to education and service.

_{Top photos: Courtesy of St. Joseph’s University, New York.}