Martin Byrne, R.S.H.M.

Martin Byrne, R.S.H.M. was a professor of finance at Marymount College, Loyola University, and LMU 1947 to 1997. While teaching at Marymount College from 1947 to 1968 she also served terms as the College's registrar and treasurer and often volunteered as the cafeteria cashier in order to spend more time with her students. In 1959, she became the first woman to earn her Ph.D. in finance from UCLA. After her initial religious formation as a Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Sister Byrne was missioned to Marymount College where she quickly became a favorite teacher among the students. When Loyola University and Marymount began their affiliation in 1968, she was one of only a handful of Marymount faculty members given a Loyola faculty appointment prior the 1973 merger, joining Loyola's College of Business Administration. Following the merger, she remained a member of LMU's faculty until her death in 1997.

During her time as a faculty member at Marymount, Loyola, and LMU, she established herself as one of the most respected scholars in her field and one of the respected educators on campus. Additionally, she is remembered as an outstanding adviser for the female students at the College of Business Administration. After Sister Byrne's death, a scholarship given to the top undergraduate finance student entering her or his fourth year of studies was endowed in her name. The Sister Martin Byrne, R.S.H.M. Memorial Award for the Best Presentation is also named in her honor and awarded annually by the Fred Keisner Center for Entrepreneurship.