Friends,
As you know, the favorite part of my job is greeting our students at the campus front entrance and supporting them inside and outside of the classroom.
Last Monday — on the first day of the Spring semester! — I greeted the students with hot cocoa and snacks on a brisk, but sunny, 18° morning. I later taught my first Business Policies class of the semester and visited with students in the Romano Center. What a blessing it is to serve as President and engage with such wonderful young men and women.
I am pleased to report that our Spring semester is off to wonderful start:
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Spring enrollment was up vs. the prior Spring for only the second time in a decade as we experienced solid retention and recruitment.
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We implemented the "STAC Advantage" Program (STAC 102 Career Exploration courses) for freshmen this semester to continue to enhance our focus on career readiness and skill set preparedness, which will be followed by STAC 201 Communication skills next Fall.
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We will be hosting a panel on the “Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on STEM Industries” on February 7 to explore how AI is shaping the evolution of science and technology.
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We held our annual Memorial Mass in the St. Agnes Chapel, where we remembered all who we lost this past year including many friends of the College, four beloved employees, and, tragically, to a sudden illness, student Kayla Fitzpatrick.
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We honored our Women in Sports with a ceremony for our 200+ female student athletes, coaches, and administrators and invited the local CYO girls to join us at half court.
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Our new Men’s Volleyball team hosted their first home game in our history and will be moving into our new Volleyball Center next year.
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Our Men’s (16-3) and Women’s (12-8) Basketball teams have each kicked off the Spring semester with 5 game winning streaks and our Spring sports are off and running.
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Fundraising is up from just $1 million a few years ago to more than $5 million with a number of recent major grants geared towards further enhancing our students‘ academic experiences.
Finally, I am delighted to share that Martin Luther King III will be our keynote speaker for Black History Month on campus on February 12 as we proudly share our strong commitment to diversity and inclusion with our students.
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Please come for a visit this Spring — I will be the guy at the front gate with the big smile!
Regards,
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P.S. Today would have been the 88th birthday of my Mom, Margaret E. Daly. We launched a scholarship in her memory when she passed away in 2019 after a life of giving and caring. Please learn about the special scholarship recipients and give the greatest gift – the gift of education to our students — on her birthday.
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Black History Month Fireside Chat with Martin Luther King III |
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We are delighted to share that our Center for Social Justice will be hosting a Black History Month Fireside Chat with Martin Luther King III on Monday, February 12 at 2:00 PM.
As the oldest son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King III is a thought leader on the world stage, a peacemaker, and a negotiator on some of today’s most critical national and international platforms for social change.
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Join Us! STEM Panel on Artificial Intelligence |
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Join us for the “Impact of Artificial Intelligence on STEM Industries” panel discussion on Wednesday, February 7 at 5:00 PM in the College’s Lougheed Library. The panel will feature diverse industry leaders from IBM, Kapitus, National Grid, and Pfizer. They will discuss compelling exploration of how Artificial Intelligence is shaping the evolution of science and technology as they share their vision for what lies ahead. The event is free and open to the public. Networking and refreshments will follow the discussion.
If you are interested in the exciting world of Machine Learning, our Data Science program could be the perfect fit for you! Offered by our highly regarded School of STEM, our program is purposefully designed for students with strong calculus/mathematics and communication skills.
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New York State Teacher Residency Program |
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St. Thomas Aquinas College's School of Education partnered with Clarkstown Central School District on the New York State (NYS) Teacher Residency Program, a grant program offered through NYS Department of Labor.
Clarkstown Central School District has been approved to participate in the program which provides potential teacher candidates in specific high need areas with up to $30,000 toward completion of a graduate level teacher certification program. The participants will spend 1,000 hours in a classroom being supervised by a representative from both the Clarkstown Central School District and the College.
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St. Thomas Aquinas Feast Day and Memorial Mass |
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The second annual Feast Day of St. Thomas Aquinas Memorial Mass on January 25 at 3:00 PM in the Sacred Heart Chapel was a very spiritual event.
The campus community recognized, remembered, and celebrated the lives of our alumni, family, and friends who have passed away over the last three years and beyond. Spartans and friends came together at a reception in the Romano Student Alumni Center on campus after Mass.
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Doc Schelin Basketball Classic |
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Dr. Robert Schelin was an integral and highly respected member of the St. Thomas Aquinas College community for over 40 years. The "Friends of Doc Schelin" Committee invite you to the Doc Schelin Basketball Classic on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at St. Thomas Aquinas College. Our Spartan basketball team will take on Dominican University! A reception will be held at 5:30 PM in the RSAC followed by the game at 7:00 PM.
Proceeds from the event will benefit our students through the "Friends of Doc Schelin" scholarship fund. Please register by February 5, 2024 to secure your ticket to the reception and game. For more information please contact Leslie Schelin at lesshe12@yahoo.com or Linda LoRe at llore@stac.edu.
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Spartan Athletics Updates |
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The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Volleyball team took to the court in January to mark the start of their inaugural season. Men's Volleyball is the College's 22nd NCAA Division II-sponsored program.
Head Coach Thiago Lopes leads the new program, after previously spending the two seasons as an assistant coach for the Southern New Hampshire University Women's Volleyball program. Joining Coach Lopes for the inaugural season are seventeen talented student-athletes from five states (Florida, New York, Texas, New Jersey, and California) and five countries outside of the U.S., including Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Peru.
Coach Robert Pichardo leads the Women's Volleyball program, where eleven talented student-athletes hail from three states (New York, Texas and Florida) and three countries outside of the U.S., including Germany, Colombia and Puerto Rico.
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We honored Women in Sports with a ceremony for our 200+ female student-athletes, coaches, and administrators, as well as local CYO girls who joined the Spartan family on the court.
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Two members of our Men's Basketball team have recently hit incredible milestones! Jamal Barnes scored his 1,000th career point, and Richard Smith recorded a rare triple-double.
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Skills Immersion Program: A Huge Success |
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The College's January 2024 Skills Immersion Program was a huge success! Led by Shannon Hargrove and the Career Center team, the multi-day, interactive, professional development program is designed to provide key insights for experiential learning and/or post-graduation job search.
Twenty-five students developed their professional brand, learned search strategies, networking approaches, interview skills, and more — all, while working in small teams to prepare and present a company profile of an organization from Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For.
As part of our commitment to Experiential Learning, the "STAC Advantage" Program (STAC 102 Career Exploration courses) launched for freshmen this semester. This new course will be followed by STAC 201 in the Fall semester, whereby students will develop and enhance the key communications skills needed for career success.
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Check out St. Thomas Aquinas College's feature stories!
We are delighted and proud to introduce you to the following individuals:
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Meet Employee,
Shannon Hargrove
Director of Experiential Learning
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Meet student,
Riddhi Painuly '24,
Hospitality Management Major
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Meet alum,
Jennifer Passanisi '14,
Licensed Creative Arts Therapist
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