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THE COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLE
INAUGURATES CENTENNIAL YEAR
100 Years of Providing Generations with Wisdom for Life

NEW ROCHELLE, NY, September 19, 2003 - On Monday, September 15 The College of New Rochelle (CNR), as part of its year-long centennial celebration, held an academic convocation at the college’s main campus.  The honored and distinguished guests included national and local civic, education and religious leaders, as well as CNR’s board, faculty, staff and students.    Honorary degrees were awarded to Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (member of the College of Cardinals, and Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University), Mary E. Lyons (President of the University of San Diego), and Antonia Coello Novello (New York State Health Commissioner).    Each of the honorees spoke of the values of CNR, its commitment to service and the long-standing impact it has had on society.

According to CNR President Dr. Stephen J. Sweeny, who formally opened the Centennial Convocation, “38,653 graduates have shared and, in turn, shaped this university community. Today, we celebrate a Catholic liberal arts college for women, which has touched and transformed lives for 100 years.  Here has been a privileged place, sacred space, where women and, more recently in some programs, men can fully discover what it means to be human.  Such glorious achievement is drawn out of and across every discipline and points our graduates to be women and men not simply of career and professional achievement, but women and men of conscience and compassion.”

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. has an uncompromising devotion to the Catholic Church.   On February 21, 2001, Avery Dulles was named by Pope John Paul II to the College of Cardinals.  As Catholic theologian, he has taught at several universities including Catholic University, Princeton, Yale, and is currently the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University.  From his lifetime of theological conversation, Cardinal Dulles has touched on every significant element of contemporary Catholic belief and demonstrates with fierce intelligence how the richness of two thousand years of Catholic tradition is eminently consistent with the expression of faith that the new millennium requires.    He has written over 700 articles and published 27 books.  Cardinal Dulles received the honorary degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology.

Mary E. Lyons, President of the University of San Diego, has been a teacher, administrator, institutional leader and always a student, generously sharing her gifts and talents in a life devoted to education.  As college and university Dean and President, she has become a visible public advocate and spokesperson for women’s education and Catholic women’s colleges at the national level.  Before becoming President of the University of San Diego, Dr. Lyons was Professor and Dean of the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, President of the California Maritime Academy, and President of the College of Saint Benedict.  Dr. Lyons received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

Antonia Coello Novello, New York State Health Commissioner, has been a life-long advocate for women, children and global public health issues for the marginalized.  In 1990, Dr. Novello was nominated and confirmed as the first woman, the first Hispanic and the first Puerto Rican Surgeon General of the United States.  In 1993, Dr. Novello was named Special Representative for Health and Nutrition for UNICEF.  In 1999, Dr. Novello was nominated and confirmed as the thirteenth New York State Health Commissioner.   As such, she is responsible for one of the country’s largest health agencies.  Dr. Novello received the honorary degree of Doctor of Science. 

The Centennial celebration marks 100 years of achievement and growth of the College to include more than 7,000 students at CNR’s main campus in New Rochelle, as well as the five campuses in New York City.



The first Catholic college for women in New York State, The College of New Rochelle was founded in 1904 by the Ursuline Order. Today, it comprises the all-women School of Arts & Sciences, and three schools which admit women and men: the School of New Resources (for adult learners), the School of Nursing and the Graduate School.  The main campus of the College is located in lower Westchester County, 16 miles north of New York City.  The College maintains six other campus locations in New York City. Visit the College’s website at www.cnr.edu.


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