October 29, 2020
La Roche University Professor Appointed Panelist for Global Sisters Report’s The Life
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 29, 2020 – Global Sisters Report, a project of National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, named La Roche University Professor Sister Rita Yeasted, SFCC, Ph.D., to its 2020-21 panel of The Life.
The panel, in its fourth year, features 20 Sisters who reflect on issues that impact the lives of Catholic women religious around the globe. The Life panelists will write three or four short essays for the National Catholic Reporter over the coming year.
“I was delighted and honored to be on the list,” Sister Rita said. “Perhaps something that I write will inspire others or at least give them another way of seeing the world.”
Sister Rita was one of more than 60 applicants from around the world. Each applicant submitted a 400-word essay discussing a time they learned something in their ministries or lives.
With her submission Sister Rita recalled an encounter she had as a first-year teacher to illustrate the cost of our decisions. The short essay centers on a fifth-grade student who changed his report card and the consequences that transpired following the parent-teacher meeting, including domestic abuse and suicide.
“I sat before the computer and suddenly that story came out of my very deep memory. I believe it was inspired. I had not told that story for decades, but it obviously was something that had left a deep impression on me,” Sister Rita said.
A lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, Sister Rita graduated from La Roche in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and earned her master’s degree and doctorate degree at Duquesne University. In 1980 she returned to La Roche as a professor and served as chair of the English Department for 34 years. La Roche inducted Sister Rita into the first group of the University’s Distinguished Alumni Circle in 2013 and appointed her as the University’s first-ever Distinguished Professor of English in 2014.
Global Sisters Report is an independent, nonprofit source of news and information about Catholic Sisters and the critical issues facing the people they serve. The network of journalists report about their lives and works, and Sisters write commentary from their perspectives.
About La Roche University: A private liberal arts university in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, La Roche University offers 66 undergraduate programs of study, six master’s degrees and one doctoral degree, with particular strengths in education, business, criminal justice, psychology, and health and medical sciences as well as interior design and graphic design. This residential university provides a vibrant campus community for nearly 1,300 men and women enjoying 30-plus student organizations and an exciting NCAA Div. III athletics program. Founded by the Sisters of Divine Providence in 1963, La Roche University embraces its Catholic heritage while welcoming people of all faiths and backgrounds. With a legacy of social justice and a commitment to international exchange, La Roche University educates students to be lifelong learners and achievers in an increasingly diverse and global society.
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