The first graduate of St. John’s McNair Scholars Program to earn
a Ph.D. will deliver the keynote address at a special ceremony on
the Queens campus honoring the program’s 2011 graduating
seniors.
Patricia G. Lespinasse ‘02C will share her experiences at the
annual pre-Commencement ceremony, to be held at 6 p.m. on May 3, in
the D’Angelo Center Ballroom. The senior McNair
Scholars will receive their undergraduate degrees with their
classmates at the University’s Commencement Exercises on May 14 (Staten Island campus)
and May 15 (Queens
campus).
“We
are especially pleased to have Patricia as this year’s keynote
speaker,” said
Andre McKenzie, Ed.D., Director of the McNair Scholars Program
and Vice President for Academic Support Services at St. John’s.
“The academic success she has achieved is a true testament to the
mission and goals of the McNair Program.”
“I truly look forward to this year’s closing McNair Ceremony,”
said Asnath Gedeon, Assistant Director of the McNair Scholars
Program. “It is our opportunity to recognize our students’ many
accomplishments over the past year.”
Established by the U.S. Department of Education in 1989, the
Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program is named for the
African-American engineer, scientist and astronaut who perished in
the 1986 Challenger accident. The federally-funded program, which
has been at St. John’s since 1999, encourages first-generation,
income-eligible students to pursue graduate school.
Rooted in Research
St. John’s focus on academic excellence, faculty
mentors and undergraduate research is an added advantage for McNair
Scholars, Dr. McKenzie noted. “Research is a significant component
of the McNair Scholars Program,” he said. “Since so much of the
students’ success is rooted in research activity, they absolutely
benefit from their work with St. John’s professors — faculty
engagement is what makes the difference.”
As an undergraduate
English major at St. John’s, Dr. Lespinasse worked as a peer
tutor in the Writing Center. Her McNair mentor was
Derek Owens, D.A., Vice Provost, Director of the Institute for
Writing Studies and Professor of English. After graduating from
St. John’s, Dr. Lespinasse earned her M.A. (2003) and Ph.D. (2010)
at Columbia University.
“As Patricia’s McNair mentor, I was fortunate to be able
to bring her to a professional conference,” said Dr. Owens. “When I
introduced her to several of my colleagues, they were very
impressed with her even then.”
Today, Dr. Lespinasse teaches at Columbia, and has also served
on the faculty at NYU. She recently received a fellowship in
African-American literature at Rutgers University and is working on
a book about women and jazz in 20th-century African-American
literature.
“My St. John’s experience was very rewarding,” said Dr.
Lespinasse. “I was surrounded by great mentors, friends and most
importantly, family.” The University’s Vincentian spirit also had
an impact on Dr. Lespinasse’s undergraduate education. “The core
values of the University really resonated with me as a student,”
she added. “I believe truth, love, respect, opportunity, excellence
and service are core principles that everyone should embrace.”
A Record of Success
Last month, Godfrey
Vincent ‘04C, another former St. John’s McNair Scholar,
successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in history at
Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. In addition, three other
St. John’s McNair Scholars are pursuing or will receive their
doctoral degrees:
- This June, Michelle Taveras ‘03C will receive her Ph.D. in
Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional
Psychology.
- Charles Barrett ‘02C is pursuing his Ph.D. in School Psychology
at Lehigh University.
- Alexis Peterson ‘09C is pursuing her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at
the University of Virginia.
- Eric James ‘11C has been accepted into the Ph.D. program in
Neuroscience at Brown University, where he will receive full
funding for five years of study.
To learn more about the McNair Scholars Program at St. John's
University, contact us directly: Asnath Gedeon, Assistant Director
of The McNair Scholars Program — (718) 990-5842; mcnair@stjohns.edu.