College of Saint Rose


The College of Saint Rose is a private college in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1920 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
The college is broadly divided into four schools: the School of Arts and Humanities, the School of Mathematics and Sciences, the Huether School of Business, and the Thelma P. Lally School of Education. These schools offer a combined total of over 100 degrees at the certificate, undergraduate, and graduate levels.

History

The idea for The College of Saint Rose was conceived by Monsignor Joseph A. Delaney, the vicar general 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 Sr. 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. Rooney and her sisters were receptive to the idea and, with the permission and support of Bishop of Albany Edmund F. Gibbons and Sr. Rooney, Monsignor 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 on June 28, 1920.
Its founders selected the name of Saint Rose to honor the first canonized saint in the Americas, Saint Rose of Lima. Initially, emphasis was placed on the professional training of teachers, but it quickly expanded to include preparation for business and other professions.
As needs in the Albany area increased, the college expanded and revised its programs to meet those needs. An evening division was developed in 1946 to serve World War II veterans and was re-instituted in 1974 to respond to continuing education needs. In 1949, a graduate school was added to provide master's degree programs.
Men were admitted to both the original evening and graduate divisions, and in 1969 the college became fully co-educational. Housing for men became available in the 1970s.
In 1970, the board of trustees was expanded to nineteen members, adding ten laypersons in addition to the president and eight Sisters of Saint Joseph. With the transfer of control to this board, The College of Saint Rose 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 School of Arts and Humanities and the School of Education were hit the hardest, with undergraduate programs like art education and religious studies and graduate programs like history/political science and educational technology being cut from the college. The eliminated programs enrolled just four percent of the student body and 12 programs enrolled none. The move allowed the college to invest in its more popular programs like accounting, communication sciences, music, computer science, criminal justice and forensics, among others. Although the college described the cuts as a necessity to ensure the college's future viability and a "reprioritization of academic programs to meet the changing needs of students, increase enrollment and secure the college’s financial future," faculty protested the plan. Two months later, the faculty passed a "no confidence" motion in regard to college President Carolyn J. Stefanco, who remained in her post.
An investigatory committee of the American Association of University Professors concluded that the layoffs "violated shared governance and undermined tenure and academic freedom" and that they "violated the association’s principles and standards".

Campus

Pine Hills Campus

The main 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. Some of this conflict is due to the College's status as a not-for-profit organization in New York State which, as such, is exempt from paying property taxes in the city of Albany.
The first college building was 979 Madison Avenue, a large Victorian-era house that was acquired by the College in 1920 and served as the only College building during the 1920–1921 academic year. The house was known as Saint Rose Hall up until 1970, when the name was changed to Moran Hall in honor of Sister John Joseph Moran. The building is currently occupied by the Alumni Relations office and faculty offices of the History and Political Science Department.
Albertus Hall, at 432 Western Avenue, is one of the major academic facilities on the campus, housing many of the classes during the academic year. The brick, steel and stone building was designed by Frank J. Morgan with the aim of creating classroom, laboratory and administrative space for the College. Construction of the building commenced in 1932 and finished in 1933. Renovations in 2006 gave the building its current interior and also added seven new classrooms among other changes. It is connected to the Science Center through shared hallways.
St. Joseph Hall is a four-story English brick building with limestone trim fronted by six Corinthian 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 primary social, dining and restaurant center on the Saint Rose campus is the Events and Athletics Center, located at 420 Western Avenue. The eastern side of the EAC houses athletic facilities including the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium, the Robert Bellizzi Fitness Center, locker rooms, and a four lane swimming pool. The western side contains social and dining facilities such as the Main Dining Room, the Camelot Room, a Starbucks, the Commuter Lounge, the Campus Book Store, the Mail Room and Copy Center, as well as the Offices of Student Affairs, Physical Education, Athletics, Dining Services, the Student Association, and the Student Events Board.
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 a performance and exhibition space for artists, musicians, vocalists and orchestras. The Massry Center is one of the college's most recent and major attempts at building green. Some of the green features of the Massry Center are:
The Massry Center has received a LEED gold award being titled one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the Capital Region.

Satellite facilities

The school's Christian Plumeri Sports Complex was constructed at a cost of $4.7 million which included a $1 million challenge contribution from Joe Plumeri, 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.
Located at the complex, Bellizzi Field was named in honor of former coach Bob Bellizzi.
The College's Art and Design program is almost entirely housed in Picotte Hall. Picotte Hall is located at 324 State Street in downtown Albany and, as such, is one of the few buildings owned by the College that are not adjacent to the main campus. The interior of Picotte Hall contains facilities supporting the College's programs in printmaking, sculpture, painting, photography, and graphic design. There are also several general use classrooms. The building was donated by Kathleen McManus Picotte in 1976 and her husband, Bernard Picotte.

Organization and administration

Saint Rose is a not-for-profit organization governed by a 36-member Board of Trustees, the Chair of which is Daniel P. Nolan. Per the College By-Laws the Board is composed of two-thirds laypersons, and one third Sisters of Saint Joseph. There are presently eleven Sisters on the Board. Many current and former trustees are or have been notable local business-people, including present members George Randolph Hearst III, vice-president of the Times Union newspaper in Albany, NY, and Norman Massry, Secretary of the Board of Trustees and owner of TriCity Rentals, a rental agency focused on high-end apartments in and around the Albany, Buffalo, and Rochester areas. Dr. Carolyn J. Stefanco became the eleventh College president on July 1, 2014.

Academics

The academic program at the College of Saint Rose consists of four schools: the School of Arts and Humanities, the School of Mathematics and Sciences, the School of Business, and the School of Education. The College operates on a semester schedule. The College offers bachelor's degrees, post-bachelor's certificates, master's degrees, and post-master's certificates. There are 66 bachelor's degree programs offered at Saint Rose, 45 master's degrees, and 12 graduate certificates.

Athletics

The College of Saint Rose is a Division II member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, offering 18 varsity intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Division II level. Shortly before 2000, Saint Rose became a member of the Northeast-10 Conference. The school's primary colors are white and gold, but black and gold are used for marketing purposes. The school's NCAA Division II sports teams are referred to as the Golden Knights. This led to controversy when the Vegas Golden Knights joined the National Hockey League 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, Saint Rose women's soccer became the third team in Northeast-10 Conference history 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