September 28, 2008
Hundreds Gather to Celebrate 100 Years
of Achievement for St. John's The School of Education
It seemed fitting that The School of Education Centennial
Celebration Gala Dinner and Dance would be celebrated on September
27, 2008, the same day as the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, the
founder of the Vincentian community and the patron of St. John’s
University.
Photo
Gallery
Held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, the event drew more
than 600 attendees who came together to pay honor to the 100-year
history of the School and its outstanding alumni, students,
faculty, administrators, and staff. St. John’s University President
Rev. Donald J. Harrington, C.M. said he was convinced St.
Vincent de Paul would be very proud of The School of Education as
he was a man who realized and valued that “the greatest resource of
our world is its people.” “For 100 years, this school has prepared
teachers to develop that greatest of resources, our children,” he
said. “Imagine how many lives have been impacted and imagine how
different is our society because of the graduates who have gone
through our school.”
The sold out, black-tie affair also served to honor the
accomplishments of a group of highly esteemed professionals in the
field of education: Dr. John Brademas, President Emeritus, New York
University; the Futures in Education Foundation as represented by
Charles McQuade, Chairman of the Advisory Board and Rev. Msgr. John
J. Bracken, Vicar General for Temporalities, Diocese of Brooklyn;
Peter Gelb, General Manager, The Metropolitan Opera; Carol Gresser
’59Ed, Former President, New York City Board of Education; and the
Inner-City Scholarship Fund as represented by Peter Grauer,
President of the Inner-City Scholarship Board.
Jerrold Ross, Ph.D., Dean of The School of Education, welcomed
those present and reflected on the joyous occasion of gathering to
celebrate such a landmark event. “Tonight is a wonderful and happy
occasion for anyone who is or ever was a part of the first 100
years of our School,” he said. “It is only through an appreciation
of our past that we can invoke an anticipation of our future.” That
future shall be a bit brighter for some as $450,000 has already
been raised toward an Endowed Centennial Scholarship Fund with the
goal to collect in excess of $1 million to benefit St. John’s
students.
Peg D’Angelo ’70Ed serves as Chair of the Centennial Leadership
Committee and said everyone worked their hardest to make the
evening a night to remember. The months and months of planning were
an outgrowth of the love so many of the graduates feel towards alma
mater, she said. “I had a wonderful experience when I was at St.
John’s,” she reflected. “I made lifelong friends at The School of
Education and I had wonderful professors. I just had so many good
experiences that it’s really a pleasure to give back.” Larry Burke
‘73Ed, ’77GEd, the Dinner Subcommittee Chair, proclaimed the
evening a success with the beautifully decorated ballroom, hundreds
of guests mingling and a bevy of silent auction items that included
sports and movie memorabilia. “We want to do it again in 100
years,” he said smiling.
The School of Education was founded in 1908 as The School of
Pedagogy. The Centennial Celebration will be continued with a
variety of events including the annual Carol Gresser Forums,
lectures, networking events and professional development
seminars.