DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Frank Macchiarola left an imprint on New York City when he helped steer the near-bankrupt city out of stormy financial waters in the mid-1970s and by serving as the public schools chancellor from 1978 to 1983.
He also had a major impact on his alma mater, St. Francis College in downtown Brooklyn. Macchiarola, a member of the Class of 1962, was president of St. Francis College from 1996 to 2008 and its chancellor from 2008 until his death in 2012.
In honor of his service, St. Francis College dedicated its chapel to celebrate his legacy and pay tribute to the contributions he and his wife, Mary Macchiarola, made to the college.
The ceremony took place during a Mass in the Our Lady of Angels Chapel on Dec. 18, the 12th anniversary of Frank’s death. Mary Macchiarola unveiled the plaque bearing her and her husband’s names with help from Father Brian Jordan, O.F.M., who celebrated the Mass.
For Mary, the moment was bittersweet.
“My life with Frank was just so special,” she said. “Frank was as large as life. He lit up a room. And that lack of his presence is tough to swallow.”
Mary was not a graduate of St. Francis College — she earned her degree from St. Joseph’s College (now St. Joseph’s University) —, but she has donated much of her time and energy to fundraising for her late husband’s alma mater.
Mary is a career educator, teaching kindergarten in both the public and Catholic school systems for decades. In retirement, she served as the director of the faith formation program at Our Lady Help of Christians in Midwood for nine years. She currently attends Mass at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Brooklyn Heights.
She also remains active in education as a member of the Board of Trustees at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene and serves on the board of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor.
Frank and Mary were products of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn and met as kindergarten students at Holy Cross School in Flatbush. According to members of the college’s administration, Frank’s impact on St. Francis College is still felt today.
During his tenure, he added over 150 endowed scholarships for students, created the college’s first graduate program (in accounting), and worked to increase diversity in the student body by recruiting black and Hispanic students.
“His impact on the college, the community, the city, and even in the world is immeasurable,” St. Francis College President Tim Cecere said. “It’s clear to me that Frank is more than just the person who is here in the flesh. He’s a spirit. He’s an energy. He’s wise.”
Mary, recalling how much her husband’s faith meant to him, said he would have been touched by having a chapel dedicated to him.
“I can’t think of a great honor,” she said. “He just would be overjoyed. I don’t think there’s anything he would appreciate more.”
Mary noted that he often visited the chapel while working at the college. At the time, the campus was located on Remsen Street. In 2022, it moved to Livingston Street.
“I remember what solace he found in the chapel on Remsen Street,” she said.
In addition to his service to St. Francis College, Frank’s dedication to education included the city’s public school system. From 1978 to 1983, he was the New York City schools chancellor, overseeing the system as the city emerged from the mid-1970s fiscal crisis.
He also played a key role in helping the city recover from near-bankruptcy when he served on the New York State Emergency Financial Control Board, a panel formed in 1975 to oversee the city’s precarious finances.
According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government of the State University of New York, the city ran out of money in 1975 and avoided bankruptcy only after then-governor Hugh Carey agreed to advance the city billions of dollars in exchange for handing over fiscal oversight to the state, which created the Emergency Financial Control Board to help oversee the city’s finances.
But education was the center of his life, according to Father Jordan.
“We’re going to see him again in heaven,” Father Jordan said. “He’s probably teaching a couple of classes up there right now.”
