Jersey City, N.J. – èßäÉçÇø Peter’s College today announced that Rochelle Hendricks, New Jersey’s Secretary of Higher Education, officially approved the College’s application for university designation following a rigorous review of programs, faculty, students and facilities. The College’s original charter from 1872 grants èßäÉçÇø Peter’s all of the “powers, functions and prerogatives of a university,” and this momentous announcement will mark the beginning of the transition from èßäÉçÇø Peter’s College to èßäÉçÇø Peter’s University.
“Today èßäÉçÇø Peter’s College is taking a monumental step into the future and endless possibilities await us,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of èßäÉçÇø Peter’s College. “University designation is an integral part of the College’s strategic plan to generate market recognition as a comprehensive institution. However, we will forever maintain our commitment to personal attention and to a Jesuit education founded on the liberal arts, which has defined us for 140 years.”
More than thirty years ago èßäÉçÇø Peter’s College offered the first master’s program and since then the students and programmatic composition of èßäÉçÇø Peter’s College has evolved and is reflective of a comprehensive university. The College now grants bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees and 40 percent of degrees awarded are at the graduate level. Graduate studies have grown to seven degree programs in five academic fields serving 970 students in the last academic year.
With the growing demand for master’s and doctoral degrees, university status will bolster the College’s market position by promoting the range of programs and academic degrees, which èßäÉçÇø Peter’s already offers. The university designation will also help to strengthen enrollment and expand international partnerships.
“A new day is truly upon us,” said Kathleen M. McKenna, Esq.,’75, chairman of the èßäÉçÇø Peter’s College Board of Trustees. “Under the leadership of President Cornacchia, èßäÉçÇø Peter’s has embraced a fresh, new vision and as a result has seen unprecedented progress. The designation of university status, a goal we have been working towards for the past four years, marks another historic èßäÉçÇø Peter’s milestone along with the construction of the student center, the recent accreditation of the four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, St. Aedan’s becoming the èßäÉçÇø Peter’s College Church and much more.”
èßäÉçÇø Peter’s College will continue the process to undergo this transition. The College will operate as a college until the new academic year begins in September 2012 at which time a new èßäÉçÇø Peter’s University brand and identity will be unveiled.
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èßäÉçÇø Peter’s College, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment.
Contact:
Angeline Boyer
(201) 761-6238
aboyer1@spc.edu