The Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University prepares students to compete in a global market through an education rooted in the Catholic Vincentian mission of service that inspires tomorrow’s business leaders to take action on what the world most needs today.
Through its 7 business departments, Tobin College offers 10 B.S. degrees, 3 M.B.A., 11 M.S., and 8 advanced certificate programs that empower experiential learning at our Queens and Manhattan campuses as well as global destination courses in locations across Europe. For example, our unique Executive-in-Residence Program is now in its fifth decade and offers students the opportunity to work as consultants for a client firm on a defined project.
Determined and principled, our 2,000 undergraduate and 600 graduate students are committed to social justice and effecting change while still in the classroom, such as our GLOBE program where they partner with the Daughters of Charity to underwrite microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries, building businesses that lift families and communities out of poverty.
With the support of 100 full-time and 50 part-time faculty and a network of 41,000 alumni, more than 95% of our undergraduate students are working within six months of graduation or pursuing advanced degrees. Tobin College is AACSB-accredited and ranks among the top business schools in the U.S.
Tobin News & Events
Highlights from Tobin College of Business' vibrant learning community of nearly 3,000 students, faculty, administrators, and staff.
Tobin College of Business Invites Graduating Class of 2024 to
Celebrate Rite of Passage They Missed During COVID-19 Lockdowns
May 1, 2024 (Queens, New York) — On Friday, May 3, 2024, the graduating class of the Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University will have the opportunity to experience a rite of passage denied to them as high school students: senior prom.
While colleges around the country ready May graduation ceremonies, Tobin College’s preparations include hosting a unique “2020 Senior Prom” from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., ET, across two floors of its spacious location on the Queens campus of St. John’s University. In addition to dancing, food, and keepsakes, the event will feature two separate photo booths for student portraits: “2024 Grad” and “Prom 2020.”
The 600+ students graduating from Tobin this academic year are among the 55.1 million students who were impacted by the near-total shutdown of 124,000 public and private school buildings across the U.S. in March 2020, according to Education Week. In just two weeks, their last year in high school became something radically different than any seniors’ before or since.
“When we realized we were making plans to graduate the first cohort that started after the Covid-19 pandemic began and who experienced their first year here learning remotely, we knew Tobin had to do something special for them,” said Tobin’s dean, Maciek Nowak, PhD. “It made sense to give them a senior prom as a parting gift to acknowledge all that they’d sacrificed and overcome in the last four years.”
In spring 2020, Tobin’s Class of 2024 faced a growing pandemic just as they were celebrating the end of high school. Schools initially said they were closing for two weeks, and many seniors fully expected to return or at least be able to say goodbye to the place and people who had been such a big part of their lives.
“I’ll never forget the day the announcement came over the loudspeaker saying we were going to have two weeks off from school and to make sure everything was clean,” remembers Isabella Lovasz, who graduated June 2020 from St. Francis Prep in nearby Fresh Meadows. “Two weeks became a month, and then the last time we ever went back was to clean our lockers, one at a time, and exit as quickly as we entered.”
“The last four years have been a rollercoaster of challenges, growth, and unexpected turns,” said Javance Corraya, a Finance major who made Dean’s List his first year at St. John’s. “There’s a bittersweet nostalgia for the milestones I missed – no prom, no traditional graduation – all because of the shadow the pandemic cast. High school’s end wasn't marked by the usual farewells, no tearful goodbyes to teachers who shaped me, no last hurrah with friends who became family. Instead, it was a quiet exit, a silent transition into a new chapter.”
“This class experienced lockdown instead of a grand finale, drained of excitement about prom and graduation, which they’d been looking forward to for so long,” said Jennifer Goddard, Tobin’s director of marketing and communications who planned the College’s senior prom in partnership with a team of six students, half of whom graduated high school in 2020.
“I believe that many buried their disappointment and never processed that loss because it paled in comparison to the gravity of loss around them—the 23 million Americans who lost their jobs and, most tragically, the 1.2 million whose lives were lost. We’re now at a distance where it’s okay for these feelings to surface. This event is necessary on a deep, subconscious level, even if just to broach the conversation, recognize their loss, and help them realize how strong they are and how proud they should be. We can’t change how these remarkable students’ time in high school ended, but we can change how it ends at Tobin.”
“As hard as it was leaving my high school and never having those senior memories that I waited so long to have, I'm grateful to St. John's for doing their best to give it back in their own way,” said Lovasz, who currently works as a swim coach while pursuing a Master of Science degree in Enterprise Risk Management from Tobin.
While the business school at St. John’s has a long history of hosting formal dances since its establishment in 1927, the last one occurred so long ago that not even Professor John P. Clarke, Esq., affectionately known around campus as “Mr. St. John’s,” can say when. Clarke is an alum who graduated in 1955 from what was then the School of Commerce and in 1957 from the School of Law. Approaching 90, he teaches business law and can readily share a lifetime of university history right up to last night’s award dinner and today’s alumni luncheon.
Clarke remembers the dances that occurred before they faded into obscurity. “It was a big, formal occasion held at hotels like the Commodore, the Biltmore, or the Roosevelt in Manhattan,” he remembers. “It was student-run and a big deal to be on the planning committee…but things have changed.”
In the absence of an annual formal by the College, student workers who support Tobin’s marketing are its de facto prom committee, helping to plan strategy and produce nostalgic social media content for the event. Emily Hernandez is one of the team’s students who graduated high school in 2020 (Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens) and is pursuing a Master of Science in Business Analytics at Tobin.
“During one of our weekly team meetings in March, it came up that it’s been four years since the pandemic started,” said Hernandez. “The conversation sparked the idea of holding a prom to try to make up for what students lost that year. It’s not just about celebrating an occasion, but about bringing closure to a graduating class who was unable to reach this milestone because of COVID. We have made it this far, and I’m incredibly appreciative that I get to share this moment and celebrate with my fellow graduates.”
To help announce the event, she created an Instagram reel for Tobin’s account using local news reports about school closures as well as social media trends that made time away from friends feel less lonely. Another student on the team, first year marketing major Adina Stancu, suggested adding 2020’s biggest song, The Weekend’s “Blinding Lights,” which would have been on every prom DJ’s set list, but instead inspired TikTok dance challenges during lockdown.
“I hadn’t thought about those memes and songs in so long, but I realize they’re how me and my friends stayed connected,” Hernandez said. “My school’s prom was canceled, and we had graduation in cars driving by the school, except we didn’t have a car at the time so my family rented one with a sunroof so I could wave to my teachers and friends.”
“I was supposed to be celebrating my final year in high school,” said Joniel Arias, a Business major who graduated in 2020 from St. John’s Prep in Boston. “But instead, those times were taken from me. Because I was unsure what the future held, I deferred my acceptance to St. John's University before committing to my next four years.”
Arias also works on Tobin’s student marketing team and created a reel for Tobin’s Instagram using personal footage of his “graduation” (“my mom set up a surprise drive-by parade with all my friends and family congratulating me from afar”). The reel includes a report by CBS’ local affiliate WBZ about Arias’ school headmaster and staff driving to all 284 graduates’ homes to hand-deliver diplomas. “As I was gathering clips of 2020 seniors for the reel, I was surprised by how everyone's 'graduation' looked and how each school did something a little different.”
Notwithstanding their collective departure from high school, the first year of college proved to be equally challenging. “It was bad enough that my prom and high school senior trip were canceled, but so was most of my freshman year,” said Matthew Siegel, an honors student pursuing a Master of Science in Finance who will be consulting at Protiviti this summer. “Feeling cheated and starting on a bad note, I thought my entire college experience would be taken away due to social distancing, virtual classes, and canceled events.
However, as time progressed, so did my college experiences. I met new people, joined interesting clubs, organizations, and initiatives, and even pursued various study-abroad programs in Italy, France, Ireland, and England. Looking back, I am extremely grateful for the amazing people and faculty who tried to make the best out of a bad situation, and I will never take anything for granted ever again.”
“St. John's became more than just a place of learning,” said Corraya, who currently works as a universal banker at Citi. “It became a sanctuary, a refuge from the uncertainties of the outside world. Looking back now, I realize that while my high school experience may have been cut short, it was merely the prologue to a much grander story. Ultimately, it’s not the milestones we miss that define us but the resilience with which we face the challenges that come our way.”
“There was so much uncertainty and fear surrounding basic tasks like grocery shopping or even leaving the house in 2020, they could have given up on a much bigger challenge like college,” said Goddard. “Leaving high school can be a difficult transition under normal circumstances, which makes what these young adults did even more impressive: they found their way here, powering through territory that was new to everyone. And with the support of family, friends, and educators, they found a way to thrive. The word ‘resilient’ is a commencement speech staple, but this cohort has already proven their resilience in unprecedented ways.”
“Four years and one global pandemic later, they are graduating from St. John’s University and Tobin College of Business, many with honors and jobs at top firms already secured,” added Dean Nowak. “I hope the business world is ready for them because these young adults have thus far proven to be unstoppable in doing what they set out to achieve.”
[Contacts below for additional survey data, photos, and full comments by students and/or to request media access to 5:30 red carpet at Tobin’s 2020 Senior Prom on Friday, May 3, Tobin College of Business, St. John’s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Queens, NY 11439.]
# # # #
Press contacts:
Jennifer Goddard, Tobin College of Business 718-990-6218 [email protected]
James Smith, St. John’s University 718-990-5789 [email protected]
About Tobin College of Business
The Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University prepares students to compete in a global market through an education rooted in the Catholic Vincentian mission of service that inspires tomorrow’s business leaders to take action on what the world most needs today.
Through its 7 business departments, Tobin College offers 10 B.S. degrees, 3 M.B.A., 11 M.S., and 8 advanced certificate programs that empower experiential learning at our Queens and Manhattan campuses as well as global destination courses in locations across Europe. For example, our unique Executive-in-Residence Program is now in its fifth decade and offers students the opportunity to work as consultants for a client firm on a defined project.
Determined and principled, our 2,000 undergraduate and 600 graduate students are committed to social justice and effecting change while still in the classroom, such as our GLOBE program where they partner with the Daughters of Charity to underwrite microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries, building businesses that lift families and communities out of poverty.
With the support of 100 full-time and 50 part-time faculty and a network of 41,000 alumni, more than 95% of our undergraduate students are working within six months of graduation or pursuing advanced degrees. Tobin College is AACSB-accredited and ranks among the top business schools in the U.S. For more information, please visit https://linktr.ee/tobincollege.
About St. John’s University
St. John’s University is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic University founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians), with its main campus located in Queens, NY. St. John’s University also has campuses and locations on Staten Island (until June 2024), in Manhattan, Rome, Italy, Paris, France, and Limerick, Ireland.
St. John’s University is comprised of six Schools and Colleges, including the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business (including the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science), The School of Education, and the School of Law.
As of Fall 2023, the University has more than 1,400 full-time and part-time faculty; almost 16,000 undergraduate students; and 3,992 graduate students from 44 states and 119 countries. St. John’s offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, including 16 doctoral programs.
“ST. JOHN’S BUSINESS SCHOOL HOSTS ‘2020 PROM’ ON FRIDAY, MAY 3,
FOR UNIVERSITY’S CLASS OF 2024, COHORT MOST IMPACTED BY
SCHOOL CLOSURES AND LOCKDOWNS DURING PANDEMIC”
Tobin College of Business Invites Graduating Class of 2024 to
Celebrate Rite of Passage They Missed During COVID-19 Lockdowns
May 1, 2024 (Queens, New York) — On Friday, May 3, 2024, the graduating class of the Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University will have the opportunity to experience a rite of passage denied to them as high school students: senior prom.
While colleges around the country ready May graduation ceremonies, Tobin College’s preparations include hosting a unique “2020 Senior Prom” from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., ET, across two floors of its spacious location on the Queens campus of St. John’s University. In addition to dancing, food, and keepsakes, the event will feature two separate photo booths for student portraits: “2024 Grad” and “Prom 2020.”
The 600+ students graduating from Tobin this academic year are among the 55.1 million students who were impacted by the near-total shutdown of 124,000 public and private school buildings across the U.S. in March 2020, according to Education Week. In just two weeks, their last year in high school became something radically different than any seniors’ before or since.
“When we realized we were making plans to graduate the first cohort that started after the Covid-19 pandemic began and who experienced their first year here learning remotely, we knew Tobin had to do something special for them,” said Tobin’s dean, Maciek Nowak, PhD. “It made sense to give them a senior prom as a parting gift to acknowledge all that they’d sacrificed and overcome in the last four years.”
In spring 2020, Tobin’s Class of 2024 faced a growing pandemic just as they were celebrating the end of high school. Schools initially said they were closing for two weeks, and many seniors fully expected to return or at least be able to say goodbye to the place and people who had been such a big part of their lives.
“I’ll never forget the day the announcement came over the loudspeaker saying we were going to have two weeks off from school and to make sure everything was clean,” remembers Isabella Lovasz, who graduated June 2020 from St. Francis Prep in nearby Fresh Meadows. “Two weeks became a month, and then the last time we ever went back was to clean our lockers, one at a time, and exit as quickly as we entered.”
“The last four years have been a rollercoaster of challenges, growth, and unexpected turns,” said Javance Corraya, a Finance major who made Dean’s List his first year at St. John’s. “There’s a bittersweet nostalgia for the milestones I missed – no prom, no traditional graduation – all because of the shadow the pandemic cast. High school’s end wasn't marked by the usual farewells, no tearful goodbyes to teachers who shaped me, no last hurrah with friends who became family. Instead, it was a quiet exit, a silent transition into a new chapter.”
“This class experienced lockdown instead of a grand finale, drained of excitement about prom and graduation, which they’d been looking forward to for so long,” said Jennifer Goddard, Tobin’s director of marketing and communications who planned the College’s senior prom in partnership with a team of six students, half of whom graduated high school in 2020.
“I believe that many buried their disappointment and never processed that loss because it paled in comparison to the gravity of loss around them—the 23 million Americans who lost their jobs and, most tragically, the 1.2 million whose lives were lost. We’re now at a distance where it’s okay for these feelings to surface. This event is necessary on a deep, subconscious level, even if just to broach the conversation, recognize their loss, and help them realize how strong they are and how proud they should be. We can’t change how these remarkable students’ time in high school ended, but we can change how it ends at Tobin.”
“As hard as it was leaving my high school and never having those senior memories that I waited so long to have, I'm grateful to St. John's for doing their best to give it back in their own way,” said Lovasz, who currently works as a swim coach while pursuing a Master of Science degree in Enterprise Risk Management from Tobin.
While the business school at St. John’s has a long history of hosting formal dances since its establishment in 1927, the last one occurred so long ago that not even Professor John P. Clarke, Esq., affectionately known around campus as “Mr. St. John’s,” can say when. Clarke is an alum who graduated in 1955 from what was then the School of Commerce and in 1957 from the School of Law. Approaching 90, he teaches business law and can readily share a lifetime of university history right up to last night’s award dinner and today’s alumni luncheon.
Clarke remembers the dances that occurred before they faded into obscurity. “It was a big, formal occasion held at hotels like the Commodore, the Biltmore, or the Roosevelt in Manhattan,” he remembers. “It was student-run and a big deal to be on the planning committee…but things have changed.”
In the absence of an annual formal by the College, student workers who support Tobin’s marketing are its de facto prom committee, helping to plan strategy and produce nostalgic social media content for the event. Emily Hernandez is one of the team’s students who graduated high school in 2020 (Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens) and is pursuing a Master of Science in Business Analytics at Tobin.
“During one of our weekly team meetings in March, it came up that it’s been four years since the pandemic started,” said Hernandez. “The conversation sparked the idea of holding a prom to try to make up for what students lost that year. It’s not just about celebrating an occasion, but about bringing closure to a graduating class who was unable to reach this milestone because of COVID. We have made it this far, and I’m incredibly appreciative that I get to share this moment and celebrate with my fellow graduates.”
To help announce the event, she created an Instagram reel for Tobin’s account using local news reports about school closures as well as social media trends that made time away from friends feel less lonely. Another student on the team, first year marketing major Adina Stancu, suggested adding 2020’s biggest song, The Weekend’s “Blinding Lights,” which would have been on every prom DJ’s set list, but instead inspired TikTok dance challenges during lockdown.
“I hadn’t thought about those memes and songs in so long, but I realize they’re how me and my friends stayed connected,” Hernandez said. “My school’s prom was canceled, and we had graduation in cars driving by the school, except we didn’t have a car at the time so my family rented one with a sunroof so I could wave to my teachers and friends.”
“I was supposed to be celebrating my final year in high school,” said Joniel Arias, a Business major who graduated in 2020 from St. John’s Prep in Boston. “But instead, those times were taken from me. Because I was unsure what the future held, I deferred my acceptance to St. John's University before committing to my next four years.”
Arias also works on Tobin’s student marketing team and created a reel for Tobin’s Instagram using personal footage of his “graduation” (“my mom set up a surprise drive-by parade with all my friends and family congratulating me from afar”). The reel includes a report by CBS’ local affiliate WBZ about Arias’ school headmaster and staff driving to all 284 graduates’ homes to hand-deliver diplomas. “As I was gathering clips of 2020 seniors for the reel, I was surprised by how everyone's 'graduation' looked and how each school did something a little different.”
Notwithstanding their collective departure from high school, the first year of college proved to be equally challenging. “It was bad enough that my prom and high school senior trip were canceled, but so was most of my freshman year,” said Matthew Siegel, an honors student pursuing a Master of Science in Finance who will be consulting at Protiviti this summer. “Feeling cheated and starting on a bad note, I thought my entire college experience would be taken away due to social distancing, virtual classes, and canceled events.
However, as time progressed, so did my college experiences. I met new people, joined interesting clubs, organizations, and initiatives, and even pursued various study-abroad programs in Italy, France, Ireland, and England. Looking back, I am extremely grateful for the amazing people and faculty who tried to make the best out of a bad situation, and I will never take anything for granted ever again.”
“St. John's became more than just a place of learning,” said Corraya, who currently works as a universal banker at Citi. “It became a sanctuary, a refuge from the uncertainties of the outside world. Looking back now, I realize that while my high school experience may have been cut short, it was merely the prologue to a much grander story. Ultimately, it’s not the milestones we miss that define us but the resilience with which we face the challenges that come our way.”
“There was so much uncertainty and fear surrounding basic tasks like grocery shopping or even leaving the house in 2020, they could have given up on a much bigger challenge like college,” said Goddard. “Leaving high school can be a difficult transition under normal circumstances, which makes what these young adults did even more impressive: they found their way here, powering through territory that was new to everyone. And with the support of family, friends, and educators, they found a way to thrive. The word ‘resilient’ is a commencement speech staple, but this cohort has already proven their resilience in unprecedented ways.”
“Four years and one global pandemic later, they are graduating from St. John’s University and Tobin College of Business, many with honors and jobs at top firms already secured,” added Dean Nowak. “I hope the business world is ready for them because these young adults have thus far proven to be unstoppable in doing what they set out to achieve.”
# # # #
[Additional survey data, photos, and full comments by students and/or to request media access to 5:30 red carpet at Tobin’s 2020 Senior Prom on Friday, May 3, Tobin College of Business, St. John’s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Queens, NY 11439:
Jennifer Goddard, Tobin College of Business 718-990-6218 [email protected]
Mission, Vision & Values
Mission
Our mission is to develop persons of character, capable of leading in today's global economy. Inspired by our Vincentian values and utilizing the teacher-scholar model, we create an engaging learning environment dedicated to equipping our students with innovative problem-solving skills that emphasize analytical, inclusive, ethical, socially and environmentally conscious decision-making.
To accomplish our mission, we:
- Emphasize excellence in teaching that incorporates innovative approaches to develop the knowledge and skills students need for their professional and personal success.
- Pursue excellence in scholarship that advances knowledge and informs our teaching.
- Inspire students to become effective, caring leaders by emphasizing good stewardship and sustainable business practices.
- Leverage numerous applied and experiential learning opportunities that transcend the classroom, to deepen students’ understanding of the complex business environment.
- Foster a supportive and inclusive learning environment that engages our students as partners in learning.
Vision
The Tobin College of Business will be recognized as a distinct leader in business education, providing a transformative learning experience based on Vincentian ideals. We will inspire and empower our students to achieve their professional and personal goals in a diverse, global, and dynamic environment.
Values
Vincentian values of service and societal impact are the foundation of our work and guide distinct programs at Tobin College of Business:
Academic Service-Learning asks all undergraduate students to serve as researchers and consultants to at least one not-for-profit organization in their time at St. John’s.
Global Loan Opportunities for Budding Entrepreneurs (GLOBE) teaches students about micro-finance and managing an active microloan program with entrepreneurs on three continents, with students underwriting loan applications in countries where the Daughters of Charity have service centers.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA), a partnership with the FoodBank for NYC in which students volunteer as tax preparers for low-income, taxpayers.
Difference Makers, founded by Dr. William Reisel, introduces high school students on Staten Island, NY to college-level academic service-learning.
Approved by the Tobin College Faculty on April 21, 2022.
Ready for Tomorrow's Business World Today
Tobin College of Business prepares students for success at every level—from the classroom to the boardroom—with an education rooted in service, the Vincentian mission, and experiential learning.
We produce principled business leaders committed to service, social justice, effecting change, and taking action. Our global network of 41,991 alumni compete and make a difference in today’s global market, giving the College high marks for preparing them.
Tobin provides graduates with opportunities to gain a global perspective into the business world, which is critical for career success. All M.B.A. and M.S. students can participate in one of Tobin's many Global Destination Courses and the chance to study their area of focus internationally.
Online learning opportunities are available for our advanced certificate, M.S., and M.B.A. students, as well as for students in our Fast-Track M.B.A. and M.S. programs.
Tobin houses the Center for Excellence in Enterprise Risk Management, the Center for Executive Education, the Applied Finance Institute, and the Center for Global Business Stewardship. The College’s acclaimed Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance, and Actuarial Science is one of only 20 colleges and universities to be recognized as a Global Center of Insurance Excellence.
Tobin is one of only six schools in New York state that is accredited by AACSB International for general business and accounting.
Senior Administration
Maciek Nowak, Ph.D.
Dean, Joseph H. and Maria C. Schwartz Distinguished Chair
Professor of Decision Sciences
Senior Leadership
Wendy Cohen, M.A., M.P.S.
Director, Tobin Center for Executive Education
[email protected]
Nina T. Dorata, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Strategic and External Partnerships
[email protected]
Adrian P. Fitzsimons, M.B.A., Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Academic Programs
[email protected]
Niall C. Hegarty, Ed.D.
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs
[email protected]
Jennifer Goddard, M.A.
Director of Marketing & Communications
[email protected]
Kristine McGovern, M.B.A.
Assistant Dean and Director of Financial and Strategic Planning
[email protected]
Donna M. Narducci, M.S., Ed.D.
Associate Dean and Director of Programs, Staten Island Campus
[email protected]
John J. Neumann, D.B.A.
Associate Dean of Faculty
[email protected]
Linda M. Sama, M.A., M.B.A., Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Global Initiatives
[email protected]
K. Matthew Wong, Ph.D., J.D.
Director of MBA Programs
[email protected]
Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science, Manhattan Campus
Brandon Sweitzer, M.A.
Dean
[email protected]