November 13, 2008
St. John’s University’s The School of Education
honored an esteemed group of professionals last night at its
100th Anniversary Convocation in Bent Hall on the Queens
campus. As The School of Education continues to celebrate its
Centennial, this special convocation lauded four inspirational
women who have made significant contributions in the field of
education.
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Rev. Donald J. Harrington, C.M., President of St. John’s,
awarded the University’s President's Medal to Margaret “Peg”
D’Angelo ‘70ED, and conferred honorary Doctor of Pedagogy degrees
to Carol A. Gresser ‘59ED; Shirley A. Griggs, Ed.D., and Josephine
M. Pacini to highlight the evening.
“This is probably the proudest moment of my life to be honored
by the very institution that did so much to shape my life,” said
Gresser, holding back tears as she gave the evening’s Convocation
Address. “The School of Education has never lost sight of its core
mission. Father Harrington and Jerrold
Ross (current Dean) have established a vibrant learning
atmosphere, dynamic programs and a marvelous sense of excitement.
St. John’s taught me to think, to question, to strive to serve and
to give back and for that I am forever grateful.”
The four distinguished all-female award recipients were praised
on this special night for their service to St. John’s and for the
many lives they have touched through education.
“I often say to honorees – they don’t need to be honored – we
need to honor them, because we need to see the wonderful things
that they have done each in their own way,” said Rev. Harrington,
C.M. “This certainly is the case tonight as we honor these fine
educators for their remarkable accomplishments.”
Margaret “Peg” D’Angelo, Chair for The School of Education’s
Centennial Leadership Committee, was honored with the President’s
Medal for her humanitarian efforts. This medal is given to an
individual who has achieved exceptional personal and professional
success, and/or rendered outstanding service to the University or
society.
The other three recipients were conferred Doctor of Pedagogy
degrees. Carol A. Gresser is a former President of the New York
City Board of Education and Professor of Education at St. John's
University, is a stalwart advocate for students throughout New York
City, where she has worked diligently on their behalf and utilized
her many talents to brighten their educational futures. She
displayed leadership in handling an expense budget over $9 billion
and successfully leading two chancellor searches. In 1998,
The School of Education established the Carol Gresser Forum, which
brings guest lecturers to campus twice each year to discuss the
state of education in New York City Public Schools.
Josephine M. Pacini is a distinguished educator, has spent her
life sharing her love and enthusiasm for languages with students of
all ages and backgrounds, stressing both the beauty of language and
the diversity and wonder of other cultures. Her exceptional
career in teaching languages includes various schools throughout
New York City and her passion to share the joys of culture and
language has made a significant difference in the lives of
countless students.
Shirley A. Griggs is involved with The School of Education since
1969 and is Professor Emerita of Counselor Education. A passionate
educator, she has written several books that examine and
investigate ways to improve teaching styles, research and education
for teachers to effectively teach their students. Professor Griggs
has established a memorial scholarship for The School of Education
students to take advantage of as these students grow into future
educators.
Under the leadership of Dr. Jerrold Ross, Dean since 1995, The
School of Education kicked off its 100th year with a Gala Dinner at
the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan on September 27, which raised a
$450,000 toward an Endowed Centennial Scholarship Fund (with a goal
to reach $1 million) to benefit current and future St. John’s
students. That was followed by a visit from Department of Education
Chancellor Joel Klein as part of this year’s Carol Gresser Forum,
as another featured 100th anniversary event that garnered a
standing room only crowd of 250+ this past October. Additional
Centennial events sponsored by The School of Education are being
planned and will highlight a busy 2008-09 academic calendar
year.
For general information on this event, or any other
100th Anniversary events, please contact Gail Osnato, Director
of University Events 718-990-1358. For media inquiries please
contact Dominic Scianna, the Assistant Vice President of Media
Relations at St. John's University 718-990-6185 or sciannad@stjohns.edu.
Please visit www.stjohns.edu/news.