Collection Guide
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University of San Diego Women in Leadership collection
USDA.057
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Contributing Institution:
University of San Diego Archives
Title: Guide to the University of San Diego Women in Leadership collection
Creator:
Maher, Leo T., Bishop, 1915-1991
Creator:
Furay, Sally, Sister, 1926-2015
Identifier/Call Number: USDA.057
Physical Description:
0.04 Cubic Feet
2 legal size folders
Date: 1974
Date (inclusive): 1982-1996
Abstract: This is an artificially arranged collection consisting of materials provided to the archives by the Office of University Publications.
It contains correspondence and memos to and from Sister Sally Furay, former Vice President and Provost, expressing disappointment
in the lack of women in student leadership roles as well as Bishop Leo Maher's "Women in the New World" Pastoral Letter regarding
women's changing place in the Catholic Church and society.
Language of Material:
English
.
Sister Sally Furay was born Sally Marguerite Furay on June 12, 1926 in Omaha, Nebraska. She was one of eight children born
to parents Guy and Marguerite Whyte Furay. In 1944, Sister Furay entered the Society of the Sacred Heart taking her first
vows in 1947 and her final vows in Rome in 1952. She began her long career in education at her alma mater, Duchesne Academy,
while earning a bachelor's degree in English. After completing her degree in 1949, Sister Furay went on to earn a master's
degree in English from the San Francisco College for Women and a doctorate in English American Literature from Stanford University.
In 1954, she began a forty-plus year career at University of San Diego, serving as an English and Law professor, department
chair, Dean of Arts and Sciences, and the Vice President and Provost for 25 years. She earned a J.D. degree from the School
of Law while serving as Dean in 1972. During her time at University of San Diego, she championed equal rights for women, including
the creation of law school courses based on sex-based discrimination, and established the Trans-Border Institute to address
issues related to the United States-Mexico border. Sister Furay retired from the University of San Diego in 1996 and continued
her work in higher education by becoming the first female president of the Western College Association and sitting on various
boards and committees. She passed away on January 10, 2015, following a stroke.
Source: Society of the Sacred Heart. "Sally Furay, RCSJ." https://rscj.org/about/memoriam/sally-furay-rscj.
Bishop Leo T. Maher was born Leo Thomas Maher on July 1, 1915 in Mount Union, Iowa. He was the fifth of nine children born
to Thomas Joseph Maher and Mary Agnes Teberg. Bishop Maher moved to California to live with his uncle, Reverend Edward J.
Maher, the pastor of St. Patrick Church in Oakland, when he was a child. In 1929, he finished his elementary school education
at St. Patrick Elementary School, then began his priesthood studies at St. Joseph High School and St. Joseph College. Bishop
Maher started seminary school in 1938 and completed his theological studies at Saint Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California
in 1943. He was ordained a priest at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco on December 18, 1943. From 1943-1962, Bishop Maher
served at several San Francisco churches as a curate, a secretary to Archbishop John Joseph Mitty, a domestic prelate, and
a chancellor for the Archdiocese.
On January 27, 1962, he was appointed first bishop of the new Diocese of Santa Rosa by Pope John XXIII. During a seven-year
tenure, Bishop Maher led a program that built seven parishes, one mission, several rectories and convents, three high schools,
and four elementary schools. On August 22, 1969, Bishop Maher became the third Bishop of San Diego. In 1975, he began to deny
pro-choice organization members communion with the most famous case being the former State Assemblywoman Lucy Killea in 1989.
By 1980, he ended the Diocese's relationship with the University of San Diego to allow the university to become an independent
entity and eradicated the Diocese's $15 million dollar debt. He also publicly condemned the Klu Klux Klan and prohibited priests
from celebrating mass for Dignity, an LGBT Catholic organization that served AIDS patients. Bishop Maher resigned on July
10, 1990 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 and underwent two surgeries for a malignant brain tumor. He passed
away peacefully on February 23, 1991.
Source: Wikipedia. "Leo Thomas Maher." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Thomas_Maher.
This collection contains correspondence and memos to and from Sister Sally Furay, former Vice President and Provost, expressing
disappointment in the lack of women in student leadership roles at the University of San Diego. Included are statistics from
USD leadership about the percentage of male and female students holding various types of leadership positions through the
1995-1996 school year as well as agendas from a USD Women's Issues group. The collection also contains a copy of Bishop Leo
Maher's "Women in the New World" Pastoral Letter regarding women's changing place in the Catholic Church and society.
This collection is open for research.
The University of San Diego Women in Leadership collection is the physical property of the University of San Diego, Archives
and Special Collections. Copyright, except in cases where material has passed into the public domain, belongs to the authors
or their legal heirs and assigns.
[Folder Title], Box # Folder #, University of San Diego Women in Leadership collection, Copley Library, University of San
Diego, Archives and Special Collections.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection items were donated by the Office of University Publications in 2022.
This collection was processed by Shavonne Munnlyn in 2022.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
University of San Diego
Women's leadership
Women in the Catholic Church
Catholic universities and colleges