Ann V. York, 1947–2009

Ann V. York

Ann V. York, ACT’s Senior Vice President of Operations, died Thursday, October 8, 2009, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota.

Ann joined ACT in June 1986, as Vice President of Operations. She came to Iowa City from Cornell University, where she had been Director of University Admissions for five years. Before then, she had served as Dean of Admissions and Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Reed College and as Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Instructor in Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ann earned her PhD and MA degrees in Philosophy and Humanities from the University of Pennsylvania and her BA from Bucknell University. She served for many years as a member of the Advisory Board of the Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at The University of Iowa. She also held memberships in the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

In a 2008 interview, Ann was asked what she especially valued about her colleagues and her work. Smiling broadly, Ann cited the general esprit de corps she felt at ACT and the pleasure of working with talented, committed teams of experts. She observed that since many of her staff had been with her for years, she had seen many of them develop over time. The work environment they shared, she noted, was both demanding and joyful.

Ann will be remembered by her colleagues as a thoughtful, creative professional and as an effective, empathic leader of the large, diverse staff in the Operations Division. She had recently been promoted to the position of Senior Vice President.

“In times of challenge, Ann always found a bright spot to focus on, something positive that would allow us to pull ourselves up, tighten our belts, and get back to work with a renewed focus and confidence,” said Richard L. Ferguson, ACT CEO and Chairman of the Board. “While we find sadness in Ann’s passing, we can, and do, find joy in a life well lived.”

Ann is survived by her sister, Valerie Peifer of Manheim, Pennsylvania, two nieces, Lynn Scalise of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and Lisa Marie Peifer of Portland, Oregon, and her great-niece, Nina Grace Scalise. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Memorials may be directed to the Ann York Scholarship Fund for Outstanding Students in the Academics and the Arts at the Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at The University of Iowa.