Janice Mulligan ‘80 - 2025 Alumna of the Year
By KRISTIN BECK ‘05
Presentation Academy
After spending the beginning of her career in Massachusetts, Janice Mulligan ‘80 realized it was not the path for her. She returned home to Louisville and pivoted to a profession focused on supporting the diverse Catholic communities within the Archdiocese of Louisville through her work for the Office of Multicultural Ministry (OMM). She re-engaged with Presentation Academy and joined the Board of Trustees three years ago. She connected Pres students with OMM’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Round Table, and, under her leadership, Presentation became involved with the annual Pilgrimage for Racial Justice. She has inspired current Pres students, as well as faculty and staff, through her participation in a Black History Month educational panel and in-service trainings, and she was honored with the 2025 Alumna of the Year Award.
“Janice has lived out Pres' mission throughout her career,” her nominator said. “She approaches everything and everyone with a focus on justice, empowerment, and inclusivity. What a gift she has been to the Louisville community.”
Janice said what she loved most about Pres was that it was an all-girls school with supportive teachers, and it offered her opportunities to learn and grow. “I like that I had the time and space to grow into myself,” she said.
During her time at Pres, Janice was a member of National Honor Society, math club, French club, French scrabble club, pep club, glee club, and glee club orchestra, playing the violin. She was also a member of the student newspaper staff.
“Pres opened doors to experiences that I had not had before, so I was able to explore who I was,” she said.
Because of Presentation’s diverse population of young women who came from all across Louisville, Janice said she was better prepared for her future after high school. “Pres encouraged me to develop and understand by identity as a female and a Catholic.”
After graduating from Pres in 1980, Janice earned a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from the University of Dayton and a master’s in chemical engineering from the University of Louisville. She worked as a chemical engineer at Polaroid in Waltham, Mass., but after about six years, she discovered that this career was not for her.
Through a process of discernment, she landed at an all-girls, Catholic middle school in inner city Boston that had just been established. She served as a volunteer science teacher, and all of the teachers lived together in community in a former convent. She loved it and stayed for two years. She pursued paid teaching positions in mostly middle school science before returning to the all-girls school as a paid master teacher while pursuing her master’s in education from Harvard University. She worked there a few more years before returning to Louisville to be closer to her mom and family. Janice taught science for 15 years before leaving to join the Archdiocese of Louisville’s OMM as Associate Director. She was also recently named the Director of the Catholic Enrichment Center.
“What I enjoy most about serving is that I am doing God’s will and that in doing that will, as part of the Catholic Enrichment Center, I am bringing good to individuals, our community, and the world,” she said. “Some examples of this ‘good’ may include teaching people a new skill, developing a talent, providing food or other necessary resources, helping people to deepen their faith, or simply being a safe place for the community to gather and connect. And each of these things is a facet of hope.”
When asked what advice she would give current Pres Girls, Janice said she would remind them that they do not need to have their life figured out by the time they graduate. “Life will give them opportunities to change course, renew and redefine themselves,” she said. “Their journeys are lifelong. Enjoy the time and explore different options that Pres provides, especially if it is something new or unfamiliar. Live each day with courage, intention and kindness. And finally, don’t forget the gift that they have received and to make sure that it is there for the future” by paying it forward.
Whether alums still live in Louisville or they have moved away, Janice encourages them to remember the opportunities afforded them by attending Pres.
“Presentation Academy was an option and an opportunity that others, through their time, talent or treasure, worked to make possible for us,” she said. “When we work to make this option and opportunity available to those present and in the future, we are saying ‘thank you’ to those who laid the foundation for us, perhaps the only meaningful way we can.”
