The College of Saint Rose is a
private Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
college in
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
. It was founded in 1920 by the
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as a women's college. It became fully co-educational in 1969; the following year, the college added laypersons to its board and became an independent college sponsored by the sisters.
The college is in the
Pine Hills neighborhood of
Albany. It is a Division II member of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA).
History
The idea for The College of Saint Rose was conceived by Monsignor Joseph A. Delaney, the
vicar general
A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...
of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany in 1920. He aimed to create a Catholic college for women in the area between the two nearest Catholic colleges in New York City and
Buffalo. With this in mind, Delaney contacted Sister Blanche Rooney, a member of the local chapter of the
Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet, located in the Provincial House on Eighth Street in
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...
. Rooney and her sisters were receptive to the idea and, with the permission and support of
Bishop of Albany Edmund F. Gibbons and Rooney, Delaney purchased the William Keeler estate at 979 Madison Avenue. Upon granting of a provisional charter from the Board of Regents, The College of Saint Rose was established as a college for women with a liberal arts curriculum in
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
on June 28, 1920.
The college's founders selected its name to honor the first canonized saint in the Americas,
Saint Rose of Lima
Rose of Lima (born Isabel Flores de Oliva; 20 April 1586 24 August 1617) was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Lima, Peru, who became known for both her life of severe penance and her care of the poverty stricken of the city throu ...
. Initially, emphasis was placed on the professional training of teachers, but it quickly expanded to include preparation for business and other professions.
The college created an evening division in 1946 to serve World War II veterans. In 1949, the college opened a graduate school.
Men were allowed to enter the evening and graduate divisions. The college became fully coeducational in 1969. Campus housing was made available to male students in the 1970s.
The evening division was re-instituted in 1974.
In 1970, 10 laypersons were added to the board of trustees, and the College became an independent college sponsored by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet.
In December 2015, the college announced plans to eliminate 27 academic programs and 23 faculty positions. The eliminated programs enrolled just four percent of the student body, and 12 of the academic programs contained no enrollees. The college asserted that the cuts were necessary to ensure the college's future viability. Two months later, the faculty of the college passed a "no confidence" motion in regard to college President
Carolyn J. Stefanco, who remained in her post until 2020.
An investigatory committee of the
American Association of University Professors
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership includes over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations.
The AAUP's stated mission is ...
concluded that the college's layoffs "violated shared governance and undermined tenure and academic freedom" and "violated the association's principles and standards".
In 2020, the College made $8 million in administrative budget cuts. In December of that year, the College announced that it would eliminate 16 bachelor's degree programs, six master’s degree programs, and three certificate programs as a cost-saving measure in an effort to achieve a balanced budget by 2023. In December 2021, four St. Rose professors who were terminated in connection with the December 2020 downsizing won a lawsuit against the College and were reinstated; a court found that the College had not acted in accordance with its own faculty handbook. However, in October 2022, this decision was overturned by the
Appellate Division of
state Supreme Court
In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...
's Third Department.
Campus
The campus of The College of Saint Rose is located in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Albany, the capital city of
New York. The 46-acre campus is bounded by Western Avenue to the north, Partridge Street to the east, Morris Street to the south, and Main Avenue to the west, although there is college property north of Western and east of Partridge. Because of the college's urban location, all new expansion of the main Pine Hills campus' footprint occurs either through acquisition of existing structures or demolition and construction of new structures. Over the years the college has gradually acquired many of the Victorian-era homes adjacent to the main campus. Many of these structures, most of which are located on Partridge Street and Western and Madison avenues, have been converted into offices and student housing. The slow expansion of the College into the surrounding neighborhood has occasionally led to conflict with local neighborhood and historic conservation associations.
![979 Madison Ave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/979_Madison_Ave.jpg)
St. Joseph Hall is a four-story English brick building with limestone trim fronted by six
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
columns. It is located at 985 Madison Avenue between the Science Center to the west and Moran Hall to the east. The structure was built in 1922 at a cost of half a million dollars due to a need for classroom and dining space to house the growing student body. As the first academic building constructed specifically for the college, St. Joseph Hall originally included an auditorium, classrooms, chapel, dormitory, a dining area and kitchens in the basement.
The Massry Center for the Arts features the Kathleen McManus Picotte Recital Hall, the Esther Massry Gallery, and the William Randolph Hearst Music Wing. This building serves as the primary venue for concerts and exhibitions by the college's students and faculty, and as a performance and exhibition space for artists, musicians, vocalists and orchestras. The Massry Center has received a LEED gold award for being one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the Capital Region.
Satellite facilities
The college's Christian Plumeri Sports Complex was constructed at a cost of $4.7 million. The college's funding for the complex included a $1 million challenge contribution from
Joe Plumeri
Joseph J. Plumeri II (born July 7, 1943) is vice chairman of the First Data Board of Directors. He was the chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings (Willis), a New York Stock Exchange-listed insurance broker, until July 2013. The company has 1 ...
, Chairman and CEO of
Willis Group Holdings and the college's 2006 commencement speaker. The complex was named in honor of Plumeri's deceased son.
Athletics
The College of Saint Rose is a Division II member of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA), offering 19 varsity intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Division II level.
[ p. 9] Shortly before 2000, Saint Rose became a member of the
Northeast-10 Conference
The Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states o ...
(NE-10). The school's primary colors are white and gold, but black and gold are used for marketing purposes. The school's
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
sports teams are referred to as the Golden Knights. This led to controversy when the
Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expa ...
joined the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
in 2017, when the College of Saint Rose raised objections that led to Vegas's trademark application being initially denied, though it was later approved on appeal.
In 2009, the Saint Rose women's soccer became the third team in Northeast-10 Conference history (1985) to win three consecutive postseason league titles. The team's season record was 24–1, and it was ranked fourth in the United States at season's end.
Notable faculty and alumni
Notable alumni
*
Philip Amelio
Philip John Amelio II (3 November 1977 – 1 April 2005) was an American actor and teacher. At age nine, he played Lucille Ball's grandson on the ''Life With Lucy'' series.
Early life
Philip was born in Sharon, Connecticut and grew up in n ...
, actor and teacher
*
Nicholas Anthony Ascioti, composer and conductor
*
Glen Barker, former Major League Baseball player later employed by the
Houston Astros as Director of Pacific Rim Scouting
*
Peter Daempfle, science author and educator
*
Mary Daly
Mary Daly (October 16, 1928–January 3, 2010) was an American radical feminist philosopher and theologian. Daly, who described herself as a "radical lesbian feminist", taught at the Jesuit-run Boston College for 33 years. Once a practicing ...
, radical feminist philosopher and theologian. Taught at Boston College. Wrote on religion and women
*
Jimmy Fallon, actor and television personality. He left school before graduating to join a comedy troupe, and completed his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree in communications in 2009. He later received the
honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
of
Doctor of Humane Letters
The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society.
The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...
.
*
Patricia A. Fennell, sociologist
*
Marilee Jones, former dean of admissions at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
and co-author of ''Less Stress, More Success''. Resigned from MIT after it was discovered that she had falsely claimed academic degrees and credentials she had not earned.
*
Garth Joseph
Garth McArthur Fitzgerald Joseph (born August 8, 1973) is a retired Dominican basketball player.
At 7'2" and 315 pounds, his physique was often compared to that of Shaquille O'Neal, especially when he was a young and raw-skilled center at The Co ...
, professional basketball player
*
Joan Lescinski
Joan Lescinski was the 13th president of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. She is the first woman to lead the university in its history. Lescinski took office in the summer of 2007, succeeding Edward Rogalski, who retired after 20 year ...
, 13th president of
St. Ambrose University in
Davenport, Iowa
*
Elizabeth O'Connor Little, New York State Senator
*
Jon Mueller (master's), college baseball coach at
University at Albany, SUNY
The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...
*
Brian Patneaude, jazz saxophonist and band leader
*
Loretta A. Preska, Chief Judge of the
and a former nominee to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...
*
Robert Reilly, Democratic member of the New York State Assembly for the 109th district
*
Melissa Sgambelluri, actress, dancer, and singer, most famous for her appearances on ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' Seasons 5 and 6.
*
James Nicholas Tedisco, Republican member of the
New York State Assembly and
New York State Senate. He was the Assembly's Minority Leader from November 2005 to April 2009.
*
Marcia White, President and Executive Director of the
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is a large amphitheatre located in Saratoga Springs, New York, on the grounds of Saratoga Spa State Park. It presents summer performances of classical music, jazz, pop and rock, country, comedy, dance, opera, ...
Notable faculty
*
Sharon Louden, visual artist
*
Evan Mack
Evan Mack (born 1981) is an American composer, librettist and pianist. He is "considered one of the most gifted composers of his generation by industry insiders." He is currently published with Hal Leonard, Alfred, and KDP Publishing.
Studies ...
, librettist and composer
*
Daniel Nester
Daniel Murlin Nester (born February 29, 1968, in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American writer, editor, and poet.
Biography
Nester was raised in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey. He attended high school at Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hi ...
, writer, editor and poet
*
Doris Grumbach
Doris M. Grumbach ('' née'' Isaac; July 12, 1918 – November 4, 2022) was an American novelist, memoirist, biographer, literary critic, and essayist. She taught at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and ...
, educator, author
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Rose, The College Of
Educational institutions established in 1920
Former Catholic universities and colleges in the United States
Education in Albany, New York
U.S. Route 20
Universities and colleges in Albany County, New York
College of Saint Rose
The College of Saint Rose is a private Roman Catholic college in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1920 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as a women's college. It became fully co-educational in 1969; the following year, the college a ...
1920 establishments in New York (state)
Organizations based in Albany, New York