Information compiled by Gail E. Farr, Archivist
of Holy Family University,
Carol Ann McCormick, Assistant Curator of the University of North
Carolina Herbarium
and Sr. M. Rita Partyka, Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy
Family of Nazareth Archives
The University of North Carolina Herbarium
has catalogued to date several dozen specimens of Cyperus
that were annotated in the early 1960's by Dr. Federowicz. As
NCU's collection continues to be databased, it is possible that
more specimens studied by her will be found.
Sister Mary M. Flaventia Federowicz (whose
religious name was Sr. Mary Rose Federowicz) was an American of
Polish descent born in Orange, Connecticut on 5 September, 1908.
She attended elementary school in Orange and Derby Connecticut,
then attended Holy Family Novitiate High School in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania from 1922-1931. She graduated with a B. A. in Biology
and Mathematics from Catholic University of America in 1940. She
earned a M.S. in Botany in 1950 and a Ph.D. in Botany in 1961
from the same institution.
Dr. Federowicz was a member of the Roman
Catholic order of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy
Family of Nazareth (C.S.F.N.).
She was a professor of Biology at Holy
Family College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from its inception
in 1954 through the late 1970's. In addition to serving as head
of the Biology Department for a number of years, she also served
at the pre-med advisor, and moderator of the "Albertans"
science club. At Holy Family she taught the introductory courses
in biological principals as well as junior and senior level courses.
She developed and taught a number of upper level courses on histology,
parasitology, botany and zoology. She was a member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and the Middle States
Teachers Association.
Sr. M. Flaventia died at Mount Nazareth,
Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth Convent
in Philadelphia on March 20, 1998.
PUBLICATIONS:
Federowicz, M. Flavencia [sic] (1950) Halophytes
of the sub-Arctic coast of Alaska. M.S. Thesis, Biology, Catholic
University of America, Washington, D.C.
Federowicz, Flaventia (1962) The significance of the achene and
stoma in the status of Eucyperus and Mariscus
(Cyperaceae) based the studies of plastic replicas. Ph.D. Thesis,
Catholic University of America Biological studies no. 75, Washington,
D.C.
Federowicz, M. F. (1963) The liturgy in the life of our teachers.
Proceedings of the 6th Inter-Provincial Conference. Immaculate
Conception Province, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 102-112.
