St. John's University President Rev.
Donald J. Harrington, C.M. delivered the following speech at St.
John's 10th Annual President's Dinner October 25, 2007:
As you entered the Waldorf this evening, you may have noticed that
a St. John’s flag hangs over the main entrance in celebration of
our 10th President’s Dinner. Indeed, my friends, St. John’s has
come a long way!
On November 5, 1998 St. John’s University held its first dinner
at the Pierre Hotel. Peter Tobin was our first and only
honoree and 550 friends and supporters were in attendance. Cardinal
John O’Connor, a beloved friend of St. John’s, addressed the
gathering and spoke of the wonders St. John’s had wrought for over
125 years. That evening the university raised over $700,000.
Tonight we gather 1,300 strong for our 10th annual dinner. As
you have already heard the revenues this evening have exceeded $2
million and we celebrate the most successful of our 10 annual
dinners. Much has changed at St. John’s over those years. I wish to
highlight now just a few of those changes.
In the fall of 1998, 7,200 young men and women applied for
admission to the freshmen class at St. John’s University. In the
fall of 2007, 28,000 young people applied to enter St. John’s as
freshmen – an increase of almost 400%. In 1998, St. John’s enrolled
2,500 freshmen and in 2007, 3,160 freshmen – an increase of 25%.
And the current freshmen class has the strongest academic profile
in our history.
Although we have long offered a quality education for our
students, in 1998 no one of our graduate schools was ranked in the
Top 100 in our nation. As we gather this evening the School of Law
and our School of Education are so ranked. Our pharmacy school
boasts a passage rate of 95% on its licensure examination and our
law school celebrates a bar passage rate of 91%. And these are but
a few indicators of the quality of our academic programs.
In 1998 St. John’s was composed of three campuses, Queens,
Staten Island and Rome. Now the university serves students on five
campuses having added eastern long island and Manhattan.
In 1998 our Rome campus entered the third year of its existence
offering one graduate program and no opportunity for student
housing. In the summer of 2008 our Rome campus will complete its
move to a new location providing our graduate and undergraduate
students with more than 10 times the space of our previous location
and housing for over 200 young men and young women. And, in the
summer of 2008, we will open a new extension site in Paris, France
with classrooms, offices and housing for 100 students.
In 1998 St. John’s had no resident students on any of its
campuses. In 2007 the housing capacity on our campuses exceeds
3,000 students.
Since 1998 the university has constructed 18 buildings on the
Queens campus and two additional buildings on our Staten Island
campus.
In the midst of this expansion St. John’s has also remained
fiscally strong. Prior to 1998 the largest capital campaign in our
history had raised $54 million. Last year the university completed
a campaign which raised over $271 million to support the education
of our students.
And this is just a small part of our story. How has this been
possible? I believe that there are two distinct reasons why St.
John’s has met such success. First and foremost we have been
blessed because of fidelity to our mission. In the spirit of St.
Vincent de Paul we know our special responsibility and privilege is
to assist those in need.
In 1998 St. John’s provided $39 million institutional dollars in
financial aid to our needy students. In 2007 St. John’s provides
$139 million to insure that even students with greatest need can
afford a St. John’s education. Thousands of our students and
faculty are involved in service of the poor of our city. And
St. Thomas More Church stands as a vibrant place of worship and
quiet prayer in the center of our main campus. In these and
countless other ways we have been faithful to our mission in the
past; we will continue to be faithful to our mission in the
future. And for this we have been blessed with great success
in serving our students.
Secondly, I believe our success is directly attributable to so
many who have gathered in this room this evening. You have shared
your resources and your wise counsel with us as we walked this path
of making St. John’s an ever stronger university. In celebrating
our success this evening I also wish to acknowledge many who have
played a significant role in that success.
I cite tonight the leadership provided by Bill and Lesley
Collins as chairs of our dinner. We owe Bill and Lesley our most
sincere thanks for all that they did to make this the evening that
it is. Thank you Bill and Lesley.
Bill is a member of our Board of Trustees and many of his fellow
trustees are with us this evening. I thank them for their
leadership and for sharing their talents, their time, and their
resources with St. John’s University. I ask you to join me in
acknowledging, Tom McInerney, chair of the board, and all the
trustees and trustees emeriti whom I ask to stand.
We also have with us this evening several members of our Board
of Governors. The board of governors is an advisory board to the
board of trustees in addressing the strategic challenges and issues
which face St. John’s as a major university. I thank the Board of
Governors for their willingness to assist the university in this
way and I ask that all the members stand to be recognized. Thank
you.
The Founder’s Society is composed of an elite group of
benefactors who have supported the university at a level of one
million dollars or more. They are our greatest supporters. I ask
please that they stand to receive our thanks.
I also think tonight of our faculty, our staff, our
administrators, and our wonderful students, so many who make up the
St. John’s University community. I acknowledge them and I thank
them for all that they do every day to make us an ever stronger
university. In a very special way I single out two members of our
university community who served us in an extraordinary way just a
few weeks ago. I presume that almost everyone in this room has
heard of the incident on campus on September 26th. That afternoon
the university community was spared a great tragedy when two
individuals confronted and apprehended a troubled student who had
come on campus with a rifle. You know the story and you know
the heroism of these two individuals. I ask you now to join me in
recognizing and expressing our gratitude to Public Safety Officer
Dan Boylan and Student Cadet Christopher Benson.
I believe in the midst of that incident St. John’s was protected
and preserved by the blessings of a God who is active in our
midst. Tonight we once again see that god present in the
generosity of so many friends and supporters who have gathered here
to honor three very special St. John’s couples, the Mirantes, the
Sheas and the Taffners. These are individuals with close ties to
St. John’s and very simply, they are very, very, special people.
You have come here tonight to celebrate them and to celebrate St.
John’s. And the two are inseparable. People such as these,
our honorees, embody the values of our university so clearly and
help us day after day to insure that students of the future will
continue to receive a wonderful education at this university. I
thank our honorees for allowing us to honor them. And I thank
them for believing in St. John’s University. I assure them that
their trust is well placed. I know that I speak for all
present here this evening in saying to Art and Liz, to Brian and
Patricia and to Don and Eleanor that we thank you for the wonderful
example you provide. May the values which you embody in your lives
thrive and flourish on the campuses of St. John’s University.
I thank all of you for being present this evening and for
joining this wonderful celebration. As we leave this ballroom
later this evening may we do so ever more firmly committed to
recognizing and responding to the great needs of our brothers and
sisters throughout the world. May the St. John’s flag flying over
the Waldorf this evening always call us forth to the values for
which it stands. Thank you.