The College (Long Island Campus)

Mission and Goals of St. Joseph’s College

The mission of St. Joseph’s College is to provide a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, rooted in a liberal arts tradition that supports provision for career preparation and enhancement. The College aims in this way to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility, and service–a life that is worthy of the College’s motto, Esse non videri: “To be, not to seem.”

Independent and coeducational, St. Joseph’s College provides affordable private education that serves a diverse population of academically eligible students.

St. Joseph’s College affirms the dignity, freedom, and inherent value of each person. This affirmation is realized through a student-centered environment wherein the faculty’s primary commitment is to excellence in teaching. In this open, supportive atmosphere, students are challenged to develop their full potential and are encouraged to acquire a spirit of inquiry and a joy in learning.

To accomplish this mission, St. Joseph’s College has established the following goals:

• to offer curricula that foster the knowledge and intellectual skills associated with the liberally educated person;
• to encourage students to develop personal value systems and responsible self-direction;
• to foster committed participation in the local and global communities;
• to help students develop as whole persons by providing individual attention, interactive teaching, and opportunities for active participation in academic and extracurricular programs;
• to prepare students for their careers by offering the necessary professional and pre-professional education;
• to provide for the needs of a diversified student population with varied educational and professional experiences;
• to foster an environment of openness to the exploration and understanding of diverse ideas, traditions and cultures;
• to support educational programs and services that will contribute to the vitality of the communities served by the Brooklyn and Suffolk Campuses.

History

St. Joseph’s College for Women, as it was then known, was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, in response to the need for a day college for young women. The College received its provisional charter from the Regents of the University of the State of New York on February 24, 1916. From its earliest days, the College articulated its mission in terms of academic quality, value orientation, and career preparation. These values, coupled with the financial support and leadership of the Sisters of St. Joseph, brought early success and the College quickly outgrew its original facilities at 286 Washington Avenue. In 1918 the College moved to its present site at 245 Clinton Avenue, and the first baccalaureate degrees were conferred on twelve graduates on June 17, 1920. The College was accredited in 1928 by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The Regents granted St. Joseph’s College an Absolute Charter in 1929. Reverend William T. Dillon, J.D., Professor of Philosophy, who served as Dean of the College and later its President, guided its growth during the significant years that followed.

Under the visionary leadership of Msgr. Dillon, the College placed great emphasis on the holistic development of each student, encouraging personal independence and integrity. This student-centered culture has continued to characterize the College. Academically, the College pioneered in the study of child development, and in 1934 opened a laboratory pre-school, now the renowned Dillon Child Study Center.

With a reputation for strong academic programs and a faculty dedicated to excellence in teaching, the College undertook its first extensive building program during the presidency of Sr. Vincent Therese Tuohy. McEntegart Hall Library opened in 1965 and the Dillon Child Study Center in 1968.

S. George Aquin O’Connor’s presidency, 1969–1997, coincided with a period of radical change in higher education. To meet new societal needs, the College admitted men to full matriculation, developed the Suffolk Campus in Patchogue, Long Island, created the School of Professional and Graduate Studies for adult students, introduced undergraduate programs in Accounting, Business, Nursing, health professions, and a Master’s program in Child Study. In support of these academic programs, Callahan Library was constructed on the Patchogue Campus in 1988. For the enrichment of student life, the Danzi Athletic Center opened on the Suffolk Campus in 1997.

S. Elizabeth A. Hill, MA, JD, elected President in 1997, has emphasized the importance of both continuity and change. Undergraduate programs continue to grow even as the College has introduced new Master’s programs in Management, Executive MBA, Literacy, Nursing, Special Education, and Human Resources Management. Reflecting the technological world in which we live, all college classrooms are now smart classrooms, equipped with the latest technological support. All buildings are wired, and the two campuses are connected with videoconferencing, enabling a number of small advanced courses to be taught simultaneously on both campuses. The Business and Technology Center opened on the Suffolk Campus in 2001. The purchase of the St. Angela Hall property in 2001 made possible major renovations in the landmark-status buildings on the Brooklyn Campus.

At ninety five years, the College looks back on a history of innovation and adaptability to changing circumstances and needs. The College has grown from its roots in Brooklyn, with its first graduating class of twelve students to two campuses and an enrollment of over 5400 students and thirty thousand alumni. The College looks forward to celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of its founding with renewed dedication to transforming lives, one student at a time.

Location

The Suffolk Campus of St. Joseph’s College is located in Patchogue at 155 West Roe Boulevard. It is bounded on the north by Sunrise Highway. It is easily accessible from the south shore locations via Southern State, Sunrise Highway, (Exit 52) and from central and northern Long Island via Veterans Highway, Patchogue-Holbrook Road, Nicolls Road or Route 112. (See Maps and Directions.)

Facilities

The main building, which was named O’Connor Hall in 1997 in honor of S. George Aquin O’Connor, contains:

The Callahan Library at the Long Island Campus is a modern 25,000 sq. ft., free-standing facility with seating for more than 300 and access to over 50 computers. A curriculum library, computer labs, three classrooms, seminar rooms, administrative offices, and a video conference room are housed in this building. Holdings include over 170,000 books, dvds, videos, and other instructional aids as well as over 600 online and print journals. Membership in the international bibliographic utility, OCLC (Online Computer Library Center), allows almost limitless access to available information. The hours of library service are adjusted to meet student need and are posted in the lobby as well as on the library website.

Off-campus resources include the McEntegart Hall Library at St. Joseph’s Brooklyn Campus with over 134,000 volumes (including 51,000 e-books), 1800 audio-visual units, 1800 microforms units, and over 25,800 serial subscriptions. Callahan’s memberships in both the Long Island Library Resources Council and Suffolk County Library Association facilitate cooperative relationships with other academic and special libraries on Long Island.

The Business and Technology Center, opened in Fall 2002, contains over 150 state of the art computer workstations and flat monitors. “Smart classroom” technologies including Internet access, DVD, VCR, projection systems, and whiteboards, have been installed in every classroom and computer lab. A wireless “model classroom” offers emerging technologies in a flexible classroom environment. Videoconferencing facilities connect the two campuses, allowing for real-time distance learning in a small group setting.

Computer Facilities. A high-speed, fiber optic intra-campus network connects all offices, instructional facilities, computer laboratories and libraries on both the Brooklyn and Patchogue campuses. The network provides Internet access to all students, faculty and staff. Two wireless laptop classrooms connect Brooklyn and Long Island via high-definition monitors, video cameras, Smartboards, document cameras, and computers. Additional videoconferencing facilities connect the two campuses, allowing for real-time distance learning in a small group setting.

WebAdvisor, a web interface to the College’s administrative database, is available to students. Students can register for class, pay bills, view and print their schedules and degree audit report, and view their current and prior grades.

Students are provided with Google Apps accounts for communication and collaboration. Included is over 7GB of storage, the power of GMail, Google chat, Google calendar, and Google docs.

An integrated online library system enables students to search for and check out books at either campus. Online databases and other electronic resources are available to students from either campus, or from their home computers.

The Clare Rose Repertory Theatre is an integral part of the development of St. Joseph’s College and serves as a major teaching facility for the college’s theatre courses, as well as the performance space for the college and local theatre productions.

A multi-story Academic Center has been created in the area formerly used as a gymnasium. This building contains eight classrooms, student lounges and office space, and a large meeting room.

The John A. Danzi Recreation/Fitness Center opened in Spring 1997. It includes a competition size swimming pool, aerobics studio, strength training room, fitness room, 12,000 square foot gymnasium and an elevated track.

A 24 acre Athletic Complex, including a soccer/lacrosse stadium, baseball and softball fields, a running track and a field house was opened in 2011-12.

In addition, the Campus features parking facilities for more than 900 cars. This beautiful suburban setting provides a unique background for a satisfying intellectual, social, and extra-curricular collegiate experience.

Main Campus-Brooklyn

The main campus is located in the residential Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn. St. Joseph’s College, an urban college with a campus, offers easy access to all transit lines, to the Long Island Expressway, to all bridges in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, as well as to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Staten Island. This convenient location brings students from every part of the Greater New York Metropolitan area to the College each day, where they enjoy the freedom of campus life while profiting from the many cultural advantages of New York City. Within the space of one half hour, students leaving St. Joseph’s College may find themselves in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 42nd Street Library, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the Broadway theatre district, Madison Square Garden, or Citi Field.

The College itself stands in the center of one of the nation’s most diversified academic communities, consisting of six colleges and universities within a two-mile radius of each other. St. Joseph’s College offers its students easy access to the other colleges and such cultural facilities as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Accreditation and Memberships

Accreditation

The College is accredited by the following:

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

The College’s Nursing programs are accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission

The College’s teacher education programs (Early Childhood, Childhood, Early Childhood: Disabilities, Childhood: Disabilities, Infant/Toddler Early Childhood Special Education; and Adolescence Education: Biology, English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Spanish) are accredited by the New York State Board of Regents (RATE).

The College’s Recreation and Leisure Studies program is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT).

The College’s programs are registered with the

The College’s programs are approved by the New York State Education Department for the training of veterans.

Membership

The College is a member of many associations, including the following:

American Council on Education
Association of American Colleges and Universities
College Entrance Examination Board
Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities, State of New York
Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
Long Island Regional Advisory Council on Higher Education
National Association of College and University Business Officers
National League for Nursing
Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges