Margaret Corcoran Deignan

DEIGNAN Margaret Corcoran Deignan, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions at Fairfield University, died at her home in Westport, July 27, 2005. Dr. Deignan was born June 12, 1931 in Scranton, Pa., and was the daughter of the late Gerald A. and Jule R. (Orr) Corcoran Sr. Dr. Deignan was a graduate of Marywood Seminary and held a A. B. degree from Marywood College with a major in psychology and special education as well as an M. S. degree in counseling and psychology with a concentration in school psychology from the same institution. Her Ph.D. in Special Education with concentrations in Learning Disabilities and Emotional Disturbances in Children and Youth was awarded by Yeshiva University, New York. Before her appointment to the faculty at Fairfield University, Dr. Deignan taught primary, middle school and high school special education classes in the public school systems of Pennsylvania, Delaware and Connecticut. Dr. Deignan joined Fairfield University s Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions to initiate a new Program in Special Education in 1966. She directed that program for a number of years. She then chaired the combined Department of Psychology and Special Education from 1993 to 1997. During both appointments, she was responsible for authoring and directing a number of United States Department of Education training grants for special educators and bilingual special educators. After serving for a year as Interim Dean and after a national search, she was appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions on May 1, 1998. She had served as dean of the Graduate School for the last seven years. Dr. Deignan s research interests lay in the fields of learning disabilities, emotional disturbance in children and adolescents and in bilingual special education. She had shared her expertise in those areas as a consultant to more than 15 Connecticut school systems and, internationally, as a Visiting Professor at the University of Lisbon and the University of Braga in Portugal. Her primary mission was the preparation of skilled, highly qualified, productive and sensitive teachers of children and youth with exceptional learning needs. Her influence in that area went beyond the University itself to her membership in many professional organizations and as a four year member of the Connecticut State Commissioner of Education s Educator Preparation Program Approval Review Board, and the Professional Advisory Board of the CACLD (Connecticut Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities). She is survived by a sister, Dr. Marigrace C. Fahey, and her husband, Dr. John L. Fahey, Clarks Green, Pa.; two brothers and their wives: James and Catherine Corcoran, Mechanicsville, Va., and Col. Kevin and Bridget Corcoran, Carlisle, Pa. Also surviving are 10 nieces and nephews; and 18 great-nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Dr. Deignan was preceded in death by her husband, William R. Deignan; a brother, Gerald A. Corcoran Jr.; and two aunts: Sr. M. St. Mary Orr, IHM and Sr. M. Maria Angela Orr, IHM. The funeral will be Friday August 26, 2005 from Church of St. Gregory, 330 N. Abington Road, Clarks Green, PA. 18411 with a Memorial Mass at 11 a.m. to be celebrated by Msgr. John H. Louis. Internment Cathedral Cemetery, Scranton. The family will receive relatives and friends Friday at the church from 10 to 10:30 a.m. A memorial service honoring Dr. Deignan will be held at Fairfield University at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to CACLD, 25 Van Zant Street East Norwalk, CT. 06855 Arrangements are being made by Jennings-Calvey Funeral Home, Inc., 111 Colburn Avenue, Clarks Summit. For more information, directions, or to send an online condolence, please visit www.jenningscalvey.com.