CNR PRESIDENT STEPHEN J. SWEENY RESPONDS
TO CLOSURE OF MARYMOUNT COLLEGE OF TARRYTOWN
The reminder in The
Journal News (August 31, 2007) of the closure
of Marymount College of Tarrytown was greeted with a renewed sense of
sadness
and regret at The College of New Rochelle. American higher education is
poorer
for the loss of one more women’s college because of declining
enrollment,
and with it another long and successful institutional journey in
preparing
women with a liberal arts higher education has ended.
The reality of modern
education
has taught us there must be a critical mass of students to have the
increasingly
sophisticated courses and services of a modern college education. It is
difficult,
therefore, in today’s economic environment to provide the small,
intimate,
traditional all-women’s college, while at the same time giving women
the
access to the facilities and opportunities larger campuses and
co-educational
schools might offer.
Many women’s colleges have
been
forced to close or merge with larger coeducational institutions to
continue
to survive, giving up their single-sex identity. We understand and
sympathize
with this reality of life.
The College of New
Rochelle, the
first Catholic College for women in New York State, however, four
decades
ago charted a different course in our development as an institution.
Anticipating
the demands of the new demographics affecting higher education, CNR
took
several steps in the late 1960s and early 1970s to ensure that it would
always
be able to continue its undergraduate, all-women School of Arts &
Sciences.
In 1969, we created the
Graduate
School, and in 1972, established the School of New Resources, a liberal
arts
degree program for adult learners, drawing our students, both female
and
male, from diverse communities that have traditionally not had the
opportunity
for a college degree. In 1976, we opened a co-ed School of Nursing for
undergraduate
and graduate students. Now CNR maintains a total enrollment of over
6,500
students, while continuing to nurture our all-women school.
Why is The College of New
Rochelle
so committed to single-sex education? Simply because we believe women’s
colleges
are unique and necessary. They place women at the center of the
academic
experience, developing their intellectual, spiritual and professional
skills,
while connecting them into a network of women that will serve them well
for
most of their professional and personal lives. This is our bedrock and
our
belief, and this year, in May of 2007, The College of New Rochelle
conducted
its 100th Commencement ceremonies.
Here at CNR we are adding
to our
legacy by continuing our building program, and enhancing the facilities
we
offer to all our students. In 2002 we renovated our historic Mother
Irene
Gill Library, making it a state-of-the art educational resource center
on
campus. This coming winter we will dedicate the multi-million dollar
Wellness
Center, housing state-of-the-art athletic and fitness facilities as
well
as providing the locus for innovative preventative health care
education
programs.
CNR’s core elements -- commitment to the education of women, the
primacy
of liberal arts, an environment honoring the rich Catholic
intellectual,
moral, social justice tradition, a community composed of diverse
students
who are being educated for service and professional careers -- make us
not
necessarily unique but secure in our identity.
We know who we are and what
we
are achieving in higher education. This is our greatest strength. And
every
fall we add to that strength by opening our campus doors to better and
brighter
students who have selected The College of New Rochelle as their partner
in
higher education.
This commitment to women is
not
only our history; it is our vision for the 21st century. Institutions
that
continue to uphold the tradition of women’s education and uniquely
prepare
women for the many roles they will assume in life are more necessary
and
relevant than ever. We salute their achievement and are justly
proud
to be among them as we begin our 104th year serving the nation and the
Church
with strength and vitality.
Stephen J. Sweeny, Ph.D.
President
The College of New Rochelle
