Sister Mary Scullion, RSM, Named 2025 Praxis Award Recipient for her Lifelong Service to Serving the Homeless
VILLANOVA, Pa – The Villanova University Ethics Program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has named Sister Mary Scullion, RSM, co-founder of the Philadelphia nonprofit Project HOME, the recipient of the 2025 Praxis Award in Professional Ethics. The Praxis Award recognizes a professional or academic who exemplifies the highest ethical ideals of their profession or who has contributed to professional ethics scholarship.
Sister Scullion has dedicated her life to serving others. She joined the Sisters of Mercy in 1972, while pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Saint Joseph’s University. Prior to taking her final vows in 1980, she spent one week living as a homeless woman on the streets of Philadelphia. This experience informed her lifelong mission.
She went on to earn a master’s in social work from Temple University and founded two other nonprofit organizations prior to founding Project HOME—Woman of Hope and the Outreach Coordination Center. Sister Scullion and Joan Dawson McConnon co-founded Project HOME in 1989. Since then, the organization has been providing comprehensive services to individuals experiencing chronic homelessness.
“While there are many other people and organizations dedicated to work with the homeless and other needy human beings in our neighborhoods, Sister Mary Scullion demonstrates a level of commitment and excellence in trying to improve the lives of others that the Praxis Award seeks to recognize,” said Villanova Ethics Program staff member Peggy Elder in her nomination for Sister Scullion.
Sister Scullion will formally receive the award and present a lecture about her lifelong dedication to serving those experiencing homelessness on Wednesday, April 2, 2024, at 5 p.m. in the Villanova Room of the Connelly Center. The event is free and open to the public.
About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has been the heart of the Villanova learning experience, offering foundational courses for undergraduate students in every college of the University. Serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students, the College is committed to fortifying them with intellectual rigor, multidisciplinary knowledge, moral courage and a global perspective. The College has more than 40 academic departments and programs across the humanities, social sciences, and natural and physical sciences.