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The Office of University Mission offers select faculty and administrators the opportunity to participate in the Vincentian Mission Institute(VMI). Prospective members of the next cohort will be contacted after Presidential nomination.
Program Overview
The Vincentian Mission Institute (VMI) is a collaborative, two-year program, initiated and facilitated by DePaul University, that brings together selected faculty and staff from St. John’s University, DePaul University, and Niagara University (approximately 10 participants from each institution) in order to educate and engage lay faculty and staff in the history and future of Vincentian and Catholic higher education, social teaching, and ministry. Membership is by Presidential nomination. There is no application.
“Education is necessary and woe betide those who don't use this time well.” – St. Vincent de Paul
Program Highlights
Throughout the course of 18 months, VMI members travel to our sister universities, study about the nature of Catholic and Vincentian higher education, and deepen their knowledge of Vincentian heritage, and make plans for university change.
Founded in 2007, the Vincentian Mission Institute (VMI) is a collaborative, two-year program, initiated and facilitated by DePaul University, that brings together selected faculty and staff from St. John’s University, DePaul University, and Niagara University (approximately 10 participants from each institution) in order to educate and engage lay faculty and staff in the history and future of Vincentian and Catholic higher education, social teaching, and ministry.
VMI accomplishes this goal through collaborative online coursework, academic analyses of Vincentian and Catholic identities at each home institution, and regularly scheduled video conferencing among all three universities (about once a month). The video conferencing will allow the three groups of faculty and staff to discuss aspects of the Vincentian and Catholic identities that they are studying in their coursework. Because VMI will host a variety of guest lecturers, they will also be included in the video conferencing whenever possible.
Through collaborative coursework, enthusiastic web conferencing, thought provoking discussion, and thoughtful reflection, VMI strives to answer the question: What does it mean to be a Catholic, Vincentian university in the 21st century?














Additional Information
Effective Vincentian Administrators and faculty must have:
- An understanding of the life and times, spirituality, and mission and values of the founders of the Vincentian family, and their successors in higher education.
- An understanding of, and appreciation for, the contemporary Vincentian mission, particularly with regard to its application to St. John’s University and its unique heritage, culture, and strategic vision.
- The ability to engage in mission-related discussions centered on the Catholic and Vincentian mission, particularly within the St. John’s community of current students, alumni, faculty, staff and administrators, in addition to potential students and their families.
- a firm belief that higher education is a crucial element of the Church's evangelizing mission..
VMI Alumni
VMI Cohorts began 18-month journeys together in November of 2007.
Mirella I. Avalos-Louie, Ed.D.
Paulette Gonzalez
Colleen M. Greaney, Ph.D.
Jiyun Kim, M.D., Ph.D.
Andrew Miller
Dominique A. Torres
John Diffley
Gina Florio, Ph.D.
David Gachigo
Steven Neier
Katia Passerini, Ph.D.
Cynthia Phillips, Ed.D.
Mark Andrews
Dennis Gallagher
Christine Goodwin
Christine Hammill-Cregan
Kathryn Shaughnessy
Ibi Yolas
Christine M. Angel, Ph.D.
Meghan J. Clark, Ph.D.
John M. Conry, Pharm.D.
Christopher Cuccia, Ed.D.
Nunziatina A. Manuli
Matthew Pucciarelli
Hallie G. Sammartino, Ph.D.
Angela P. Seegel
Daniel A. Trujillo, Ph.D.
Dr. Andrew Ferdinandi, Ed.D.
Dr. Jacqueline Grogan, Ed.D.
Dr. Kathryn Hutchinson-Majsak, Ph.D.
Kathleen Meehan
Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded
Lucy Pesce
Deanne Southwell, Ed.D.
Dr. Matthew Sutton, Ph.D.
James Walters, Ed.D.
Maura Woods
Ellen Boegel, JD.
Elaine Carey, Ph.D.
Beth Evans
Marc Gillespie, Ph.D.
Patrick Griffin, C.M.*
James Keane, Ed.D.
Victoria Migliore
Darren Morton, Ed.D.
Anthony Pacheco †
Sue Scacalossi, Ed.D.**
Joan Vivian
KEY
*Not in the cohort, EVP for Mission at the time
† Deceased
**Not in the cohort, VMI Coordinator
James Behan
Ellen Boegel
Theresa Cantarella
Margaret Corallo
Fay Dimino
Margaret Haley
Denise Hopkins
Eilean Kosinski
Nick Legakis
Sr. Joan Mahoney
Irene Monaghan
Sharon Norton
Anilsa Nunez
Kim Palmieri
Barbara Peltzman
Susan Ragone
Chadwin Sandifer
Contact Us
For more information on the Vincentian Mission Institute please contact Lucy Pesce, Executive Director for Mission, at 718-990-3004 or [email protected].
Featured News
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Dr. King was the second speaker in the 2025–26 Vincentian Chair of Social Justice Lecture Series. His lecture, “The Soul of Catholic Education,” continued the series theme, “The Catholic Intellectual Tradition,” and was held on October 9 in the D’Angelo Center on St. John’s University’s Queens, NY, campus.
Born to Be a Vincentian: Rev. Michael J. Cummins, C.M.
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