Manhattanville University Community Mourns Ethel Skakel Kennedy, Class of 1949
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kennedy’s life work exemplified Manhattanville’s mission
PURCHASE, NY, October 10, 2024 – Ethel Skakel Kennedy ’49, a graduate of the Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, now Manhattanville University, died on October 10, 2024, at age 96. The Manhattanville community extends its heartfelt condolences to the Skakel, McCooey, Shriver, and Kennedy families during this time of sorrow.
Kennedy dedicated her life to philanthropy and public service, inspiring generations with her unwavering commitment to equality and humanitarian causes. Her life’s work exemplified Manhattanville's mission to educate ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.
In 2020, the trustees of Manhattanville awarded Ethel Kennedy an honorary doctorate of humane letters. Kerry Kennedy accepted the degree in her mother’s honor and delivered a commencement speech in which she shared words of inspiration drawing on her mother’s legacy. That same year, the doctoral program at Manhattanville’s School of Education established the Ethel Kennedy Award for Human Rights Leadership as part of the program's 10-year anniversary, to further honor Mrs. Kennedy by recognizing others’ shared passion for promoting human rights, particularly within the field of education.
The Ethel Kennedy award was generously established by Joanne Marien, Ed.D., faculty in Manhattanville’s doctoral program in educational leadership who has a longtime affiliation with RFK Human Rights. In the fall of 2021, Kerry Kennedy addressed a group of doctoral students and faculty as part of the presentation of the award to the first recipient, acknowledging the bright futures of these educational leaders.
“You are going to transform the next generation,” said Kennedy.
“Ethel Kennedy embodied unwavering courage, compassion, and a commitment to social responsibility,” said Manhattanville University President Frank D. Sánchez, Ph.D. “It is a source of pride that Manhattanville, and the incredibly strong women who founded it, played a part in shaping the values that she held throughout her life. Ethel had a tremendous impact on the world and will be fondly remembered by all those who knew her and by the countless people who were inspired by her.”
Born into a large Catholic family, Ethel Skakel grew up in Connecticut. While at Manhattanville, she was known as a lively student with a heart of gold and a larger-than-life personality. It was during her time studying at Manhattanville – where she majored in English – that Ethel met her classmate Jean Kennedy's brother, Robert F. Kennedy (also the brother of John F. Kennedy). From the very start, Ethel and Bobby Kennedy shared a passion for politics and a commitment to service and social justice, and the two were married in 1950.
As the wife of Robert F. Kennedy, a rising political star, Ethel Kennedy was often at the forefront of many pivotal events in the mid-20th century, including the McCarthy hearings, the Civil Rights movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the groundbreaking political elections of the 1960’s, and the battle for labor rights. Shortly after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, Ethel Kennedy founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, a nonprofit charity to work toward RFK’s dream of a more just and peaceful world. In the United States and abroad, the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights has pursued justice through strategic litigation of key human rights issues, educated millions of children in human rights advocacy, and fostered a social-good approach to business and investment.
A political force in her own right, Ethel Kennedy tackled human rights issues across the globe. She marched with Cesar Chavez, sat with Native Americans at Alcatraz, and demonstrated outside the South African and Chinese embassies. She joined the Global March for Children, trekked up mountainous terrain in Mexico to visit unjustly convicted prisoners, traveled to Haiti to see the effects of the US blocking loans, and visited Apartheid-era South Africa. She confronted dictator Arap Moi in Nairobi, filled a Boeing 757 aircraft with relief supplies for African countries, and visited orphanages in Angola. She also raised millions of dollars for human rights work around the globe, and (at the age of 87) boycotted and protested fast food businesses with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. In 2014, in recognition of her impressive life’s work, President Obama presented Ethel Kennedy with the Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.
Ethel Kennedy's legacy of courage and dedication will continue to inspire and shape Manhattanville University as well as the world.
About Manhattanville University
Manhattanville University (formerly Manhattanville College) is a private liberal arts institution dedicated to academic excellence, purposeful education, and social responsibility. For three years in a row, “U.S. News and World Report” has ranked Manhattanville the number one private, non-profit institution in New York among Top Performers of Social Mobility in Regional Universities North. The university has been recognized among the best colleges in The Princeton Review for close to 20 years. Located 30 miles from New York City on a 100-acre suburban campus in the heart of Westchester County, Manhattanville enables easy access to entertainment offerings, educational resources, and business opportunities for its diverse student body. The university serves more than 1,300 undergraduate students and nearly 1,000 graduate and doctoral students from more than 44 countries and 33 states. Founded in 1841, the university offers more than 75 undergraduate and graduate areas of study in the arts and sciences, education, nursing and health sciences, business, and creative writing, as well as continuing and executive education programs. Graduate students can choose from over 70 graduate and certificate programs. Extracurricular offerings include more than 45 clubs and activities and 23 NCAA Division III teams.
Contact: Cara Cea, cara.cea@mville.edu, 914-323-1278 or 914-906-9680.
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