Albertus Magnus College Mourns the Loss of Jacqueline A. Noonan, M.D. ‘50
Pediatric Cardiologist Devoted Life to Caring for Children
The Albertus Magnus College Family is saddened by the loss of Jacqueline A. Noonan, M.D. ’50. She died July 23, 2020 at the age of 91.
A pediatric cardiologist in Kentucky for more than a half century, Dr. Noonan earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Albertus Magnus and her medical degree from the University of Vermont (UVM). She was a Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. She began her pioneering career at the University of Iowa as their first pediatric cardiologist.
Her long list of internationally recognized accomplishments in caring for children including the 1963 discovery of a congenital heart condition – later to be named the Noonan Syndrome -- a genetic disorder that was accompanied by a unique set of physical characteristics that is present in 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 2,500 people.
In 2008, she received an Honorary Degree from Albertus. That very same year, she was inducted into the Kentucky Women Remembered exhibit at the State Capitol in Frankfort. A year later, she was the recipient of the University of Vermont Medical Alumni Association’s A. Bradley Soule Award, which honors an alumnus/a whose loyalty and dedication to the College of Medicine most emulate those qualities found in its first recipient. A member of the UVM Foundation Leadership Council, and past member of the UVM Medical Alumni Association's Alumni Executive Committee, in 1966 she became the first-ever recipient of the UVM Medical Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Noonan was given the Helen B. Fraser Award from the Kentucky Public Health Association, was named one of the Best Women Doctors in America by Harper's Bazaar, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Best Doctors in America. She was named the "Gifted Educator" for 2014 by the American College of Cardiology, given to an individual who has demonstrated innovative, outstanding teaching characteristics that contribute significantly to the field of cardiovascular medicine.
Born in Burlington, Vermont, Noonan received a Mass Christian Burial on July 27 at Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington, Kentucky. She will be recognized at our Remembrance Service on November 9, 2020 for all of the deceased members of the Albertus Magnus College Community.
About Albertus Magnus College
Founded in 1925, Albertus is a coeducational Catholic College in the Dominican tradition. Albertus' values- and liberal arts-based education is recognized by external rankings such as US News & World Report, Money, and The New York Times, and has been named a Top 10 Military Friendly School. For ten consecutive years, at least 95% of Albertus graduates have attained employment or gone on to graduate studies within six months of completing their degrees. The College has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students across its traditional undergraduate, accelerated adult undergraduate, and graduate program levels. Proud to enroll a student body where nearly half of its undergraduate students receive Federal Pell Grants and are first-generation college goers, Albertus is known for its innovative curricular offerings, recently launching new Bachelor's degree programs in Nursing, including BSN and Connecticut's first LPN-to-BSN; General Health Sciences; Interdisciplinary Studies; and Public Health.
Among its graduate offerings is the State of Connecticut's only Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program, and it is just one of three schools to offer a Master of Science in Human Services. In 2025-26, Albertus is celebrating its historic 100th Anniversary and completing implementation of the Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century strategic plan, with a bold vision to "be a destination liberal arts-based college, distinguished in its interdisciplinary and experiential approach to education, rooted in Dominican values, that prepares students for lifelong civic engagement and success." To learn more, please visit albertus.edu.