Photo courtesy of Stonehill College//
By Anastasia Pumphrey
Martin McGovern, director of Communications and Media Relations, announced that he will be retiring after almost 40 years of being with Stonehill.
McGovern has been in his current position for the past 21 years, according to an update sent out to the College by Rev. John Denning, C.S.C. on March 17, and has decided that he will be retiring in the summer.
Before working in the Office of Communications and Media Relations, McGovern said that he taught politics to Stonehill students in Dublin who were taking part in the Semester in Irish Studies program. Upon coming to the U.S. at age 23, McGovern said that he took over as director of this program but then was named the Director of News Information in 1983.
“I’m a news hound,” He said. McGovern holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dublin, a master’s in politics also from the University of Dublin, and finally a master’s in journalism from Boston University. He said that he worked for local papers in Dublin while in graduate school, and that the news was always a big part of his life.
Denning described McGovern in his message as the “voice of the College from 9/11, to the Boston Marathon Bombing, to the closing of the campus due to the pandemic.” He said that he has not only been in his current role for the past two decades but has also served as editor of the Monday Morning Update and the Stonehill Alumni Magazine.
“I’m privileged to have had the opportunity [to represent the college],” McGovern said. “It’s a lot of responsibility. You don’t get it right all the time, but it can make you more aware of your community in terms of things that really matter to people, what makes the institution really proud.”
He said that in his 45 years of association with the College, he feels he has been lucky to have “had two great bosses who were two great leaders and super professionals.” McGovern said he considers the advancement department to employ some of the best people.
“To have leaders who you’re proud to work with takes the sting out of daily life,” he said.
As he prepares to leave sometime in July, McGovern said that he hopes students remember to “write, write, and write.” To seniors graduating this year, and to current and future students particularly in the communication and journalism departments, he said to keep building your portfolios and to not be too proud to work for local papers or small businesses.
To his successor, McGovern said that he hopes they will have as great of an experience with Stonehill as he has. “I hope whoever succeeds me is as fortunate as I have been to be surrounded by good, capable, and talented colleagues and that they benefit from teamwork,” he said.
McGovern said that he will always feel like part of the Stonehill community, and that the bonds he has made here have been lifelong.
“Stonehill’s in my blood. I bleed purple. I will always be affiliated with Stonehill,” McGovern said.
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