Honoring the legacy she left at USD

By Feature Editor / Katie Foreman

At 85 years old, USD’s previous president, Alice Bourke Hayes, passed away on Sept. 24, 2023. Hayes was the second president of USD from 1995 to 2003 and brought many positive changes to campus, including the Shiley Center of Technology and Science building and the Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice. Those who knew her said they loved and admired her. 

Current USD President James T. Harris III spoke on Hayes and her lasting impacts on the environment at USD. 

“She was a brilliant, kind, thoughtful woman. She was a scholar and very gracious,” Harris said. “She came down for my installation as president. She was the kind of person who would see something that happened at the university that was positive, and she would write me a note. And so I [would] get these notes throughout the year.”

Harris also mentioned that Hayes would send him a Christmas card every year, and he has stayed in contact with her sisters. 

“When I talked to her [sister] right after I found out that Alice had passed, she said that Alice never had a bad word to say about anybody, or anything at USD,” Harris said. That is the type of person Alice was,” Harris said. Harris also expressed how she was a genuine human being who deeply cared for USD and those around her. 

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Noelle Norton, spoke about her time with Dr. Hayes, as well as her first impression of her. 

“She had a generous laugh, a warm demeanor and an approachable style. So I felt comfortable. She was someone who I felt comfortable saying ‘hi’ to,” Norton said. “She knew everybody’s name. I felt like she knew my name right away.”

Norton went on to talk about her favorite experience that she shared with Hayes. 

“She would invite a group of faculty over for lunch,” Norton recalled. “I remember thinking ‘it’s my turn, I get to go to Dr. Hayes’… I remember being nervous and not knowing the other people, and she — again — was warm and welcoming.” 

“Warm” was common among the words shared by those who loved her, and the memory of going to her house for lunch was also a favorite of Dr. Daniel Sheehan, professor of physics. 

“She’s a very warm person and very inviting. I think my fa- vorite time was when she invited a small group of faculty over to her home for lunch,” Sheehan said. “I’ve never been invited to the president’s home ever, much less for lunch. But that’s the way she was. She wanted to know faculty and she extended her hospitality and her home to various groups of us from time to time. That’s the way she was.” 

Sheehan explained that he was around at USD for Hayes’ entire presidency and always admired her. 

Chair and Professor of Biology Mary Sue Lowery also knew Hayes for the duration of her time as president and described Hayes’ demeanor. 

“Your first impression of her was [that] she was always very friendly and warm, but she commanded a lot of respect,” Lowery said. “The more I got to know her, the more I appreciated her integrity, her courage and her compassion for students.” 

Lowery expressed that Hayes was an integral part of the San Diego community and would meet with presidents from other local universities to discuss efforts they could make in the San Diego area. 

Pertaining to USD and its environment, Lowery, Sheehan, Norton and Harris all agreed that Hayes made her mark. 

“From a wider perspective outside of USD, she oversaw a very productive period in the life of USD. We had a lot of building that went on, a lot of expansion, more active scholarship and a lot of wonderful things were hap- pening,” Lowery said. “She also was a really strong leader. She was a real, staunch supporter of academic freedom and intellectual advancement by the faculty members.” 

Lowery noted Hayes’ passion for students and their success, and there is now an Alice B. Hayes scholarship for science students, in her honor.

Norton also highlighted the ways that Hayes promoted the university’s values.

“She kept that legacy of the liberal arts alive at USD, after our first president. So that was very important to have her approach to the liberal arts. That legacy that USD had continued and thrived and enhanced the sciences.”

As a botanist, Hayes had a love for science and her presi- dency was essential to building the Shiley Center of Technology.

Harris elaborated on a story he learned, about Hayes’ passion for botany.

“When I spoke to [Hayes’] sisters, they said when they went through her materials and the stuff that she had — they found two, three-ring notebooks that had her handwritten notes in all of them. And it was all the flower beds on campus,” Harris said. “She would walk around and take notes about the flower beds, and then she would meet with the gardeners and stop and talk to them about what they were planting, and why they were planting that, and then she would have her recommendation.” 

Harris noted that Hayes was a botanist at heart, so she was genuinely interested and passionate about the botany and greenery on campus. 

Not only did she care about our campus, Harris said, but she also cared about people. 

“She embodied the values of treating people with dignity, and also of making our campus a welcoming and inclusive place. And it was different in the 1990s and early 2000s. The world was different. The university was different,” Harris said. “But she did help us further advance our mission and values. It was in alignment with who she was as a person. So I think that’s one of the most important pieces and the following: that the university was better than she found it when she came here.” 

Whether you remember Dr. Hayes for her contributions to USD like the buildings that now stand on campus, her warm, inviting energy or her passion for the arts and sciences that lives on in the landscaping of USD, it is clear that she was instrumental to the success of USD in many ways. She also made an impact on people, who fondly remember the years of her presidency on campus. Her memory will not be forgotten.