May 6, 2024
In a fitting tribute to the memory of the late Denis P. Kelleher ’65CBA, ’91HON, Chair Emeritus, St. John’s University Board of Trustees, family, friends, and members of the St. John’s community joined together for the naming of the Kelleher Welcome Center at the Queens, NY, campus.
The anticipated closure and impending sale of the Staten Island, NY, campus presents the University with opportunities to preserve and memorialize the Staten Island legacy by transferring several named buildings to the Queens campus.
Denis and his wife, Carol, funded the $5.4 million Kelleher Center, a student activities center at the Staten Island campus. For years, the Kelleher Center, dedicated in 1999, bore his family name, but his giant footprints are still left all over St. John’s at campuses in Queens, NY, and Rome, Italy, and locations in Paris, France, and Limerick, Ireland.
The celebration to rename the Undergraduate Admission Welcome Center to the Kelleher Welcome Center began with a Sunday liturgy celebrated by Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., President.
As the opening hymn “All Are Welcome” concluded, Fr. Shanley told the congregation gathered in St. Thomas More Church, “How fitting that we sing those words of welcome as we extend greetings to the Kelleher family joining us on campus today for the renaming of our Welcome Center.”
After the liturgy, the gathering moved to the Kelleher Welcome Center, where Fr. Shanley reflected on Mr. Kelleher’s life. He was the son of a shoemaker, who moved from County Kerry, Ireland, to New York at 19 to find meaningful employment and pursue an education that would enable him to help support his widowed mother and family back home. Mr. Kelleher soon would climb the ranks of various financial services firms before founding his own company, Wall Street Access, a New York Stock Exchange member.
“Today we celebrate the legacy of Denis Kelleher here at the Queens campus,” Fr. Shanley said. “Denis is the embodiment of why the Vincentians founded St. John’s: for students to have a life-changing experience that not only changes the student who graduates, but the trajectory of a whole family. That is what we celebrate here today.”
He continued, “The Kelleher family has risen as a result of the education he received at St. John’s. Denis started that, and throughout this life he understood the obligation to give back.”
“Today, we hope that what the Kelleher family experienced will play out in the lives of students attending St. John’s today. We give thanks to the Kelleher family—their legacy now lives on at our Queens campus.”
Samantha R. Wright, Chief Enrollment Officer at St. John’s University, then spoke of how the Kelleher Center at the Staten Island campus was the first building encountered when entering the property. The Kelleher Welcome Center at the Queens campus continues that tradition.
“With a prominent, central location on campus, the Kelleher Welcome Center serves as a beacon of hospitality to prospective students and their families, ushering our future Johnnies to the place where they will embark on their St. John’s journey,” she stated. “It is a place where prospective students can find the start to their future success.”
Ms. Wright added, “Research demonstrates that when prospective students visit a university campus, their likelihood of enrolling is increased. As the hub of enrollment activity, the Kelleher Welcome Center has a profound impact on our ability to successfully recruit and enroll future Johnnies.”
Rev. Tri M. Duong, C.M. ’00C, Director of Campus Ministry, Staten Island Campus, administered a formal blessing, and after the family completed a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, Denis P. Kelleher, Jr., Esq.,’93L shared brief remarks.
“I want to thank Fr. Shanley, the Board of Trustees, and everyone at St. John’s that made this renamed building happen,” he said. “Until recently, I hadn’t been back to campus since I graduated law school, and it is remarkable to see the metamorphosis that the Queens campus has undergone. It is a dynamic and welcoming place. On behalf of the entire Kelleher family, this is a special day for all, and while we are saddened that dad’s not here, we know his legacy lives on.”
The celebration concluded with a private lunch and the presentation of a picture memento of the newly named Kelleher Welcome Center.