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Thank you, Ronnie, and all the Members of the Board of Trustees for the honor you bestow on me today. I am very grateful for the Board's confidence in me, and mindful of the important trust given to me. I accept the charter and medal as symbols of the presidency and commit myself to the responsibility, challenge and opportunity it represents.
Thank you, also, to His Eminence, Cardinal Bevilacqua, Sister Marcia, Father Ed Dobbin, who will celebrate the Liturgy later today, honored guests, greeters whose warm words of support and praise I will never forget, members of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, distinguished delegates, faculty, administrators, alumnae/I, students, friends - old friends, many from St. Francis College in Brooklyn where I spent twenty-three years, and new friends, and my family, especially my Dad, the first professional educator in my life, in whose footsteps I proudly follow. I am truly honored by your presence.
Today we celebrate Rosemont College of the Holy Child Jesus, we celebrate those here assembled, those who preceded us, and those who will follow us.
Rosemont College possesses a unique heritage and spirit, one that is profoundly rooted in the teachings of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus and its foundress, Cornelia Connelly.
For those of you unfamiliar with Cornelia, she was an extraordinary woman. She was a down-to-earth realist who had some very clear notions about the purpose of education. She established an educational system that was based on trust; a system based upon the reverence for the dignity of each and every human being.
I am drawn to Cornelia because she demonstrated so many qualities that I find admirable and which, as best I can, I try to emulate.
Like the members of the Society whom I have come to know and respect, and in whom are manifested her spirit, Cornelia knew what she believed, allowing her faith and love of God to guide her. In fact, Cornelia said, "The Lord will do everything if we do our best."
Like the former presidents of Rosemont College who I am so proud to succeed, Cornelia was an accomplished woman of many talents. Sister Mary George, Sister Ann, Dorothy, and Peg, you did do your best and we are the beneficiaries of your hard work. Thank you.
Like my own mother, whom I miss very much but know still watches over me, Cornelia was strong, outspoken, and understood the transforming value of education. She never lost sight of the moral aspect of education and believed that the training of character and spirit is necessary to do one's best.
Like the men and women who work in the three schools of Rosemont College, Cornelia did her best to provide educational opportunities to students of diverse backgrounds and was committed to excellence and joy in teaching and learning.
Like the students and graduates of Rosemont College, Cornelia made choices - often very difficult ones - and she courageously accepted their consequences. Through her choices - some of them correct, some not - she embraced her life and always did her best to do her duty.
Recently, I was asked to name values that I thought were representative of Cornelia's Society and the College's mission. Instinctively, I rattled off five. After some thought and after speaking with others, more evolved. Not surprisingly, there was a remarkable similarity in our responses.
Trust and dignity; faith and integrity; discernment and diversity; action and patience; strength and compassion; freedom and responsibility; perseverance, mercy and humility; respect for the individual and his or her strengths, weaknesses, and religious preference were our answers.
Rosemont's past was built on these values; they will be her legacy. Reflecting upon the last several months - not merely at Rosemont, but in our country since September 11th - I feel the values we at Rosemont College have displayed most impressively are strength, trust, and willingness to take action.
I say this because the Board, faculty, administration, alumnae/i, staff, and students have been working together to bring about a major change at Rosemont College; change which is necessary to insure her future and preserve her mission.
I have had the advantage of serving for almost ten months, and during these months, I have been moved by the strength we have drawn from each other and the trust this strength engendered in us to undertake the actions that will safeguard this remarkable college.
I feel that today Rosemont is a place where everything is possible because the values I cherish are the values others cherish. It is a place where people of different backgrounds and interests are working, learning, and growing together. It is one college with three schools and we are united in a way that we never have been before.
I congratulate and thank all my colleagues at Rosemont because we have come a great distance in a short time.
We are close to making major curricular changes in the Undergraduate Women's College, thanks to the diligence and perseverance of the faculty.
We are looking towards increased enrollment in all three schools due to the tireless efforts of our recruiters and new marketing strategies - not the least of which is our new website, which is being unveiled today.
And, we have increased levels of giving, thanks to the generosity of so many loyal alums and friends, and the hard work of our institutional advancement office. Much remains to be done, but we have ignited a flame that will not soon be extinguished.
My remarks today will likely be forgotten tomorrow. What will be lasting and important in my tenure will not be my words, but my actions. The test of my leadership should be my actions and the actions and initiatives that we undertake together as a community to preserve and enhance this institution.
We are doing our best.
We must continue to do our best and we must always remember and hold dear what Cornelia believed.
Before I close, I would like to once again thank all of you for coming today.
As my good friend and most valued mentor, Donald Sullivan, used to say at St. Francis, "You can't have a party without people."
I am especially touched by the support my St. Francis friends have given me. They tell me they are proud of me, and it is an honor to be held so high in their esteem.
I'd also like to thank all the people from Rosemont who worked to make this day special from those who mounted the exhibits, donated the new banners, planted the pansies - all five thousand of them, made sure the website was ready to unveil, and prepared the food, to the inaugural committee who worked so very hard and did such a wonderful job.
Once I was a stranger here, a New Yorker who wondered if she would find a home away from her beloved St. Francis College. But thanks to so many here, I have found new friends and every day I am thankful for the chance they have given me to be part of their lives.
I tell you quite honestly that I see myself in every Rosemont student I meet, and I want for each of them the opportunities that I have had. It is my good fortune to now play a role in helping them receive the education they deserve. I will always be grateful for that privilege. And I will always do my best.
Thank you.
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