By GREGORY ZELLER //
Another jewel of Long Island’s academic crown has added some extra luster, with St. Joseph’s College becoming the latest Island school to earn a promotion.
The New York State Board of Regents has approved the Patchogue-based institution’s petition to be elevated to “university” status, marking the second Long Island school to earn the higher-education distinction this year. The Regents Board previously approved “university” status for Rockville Centre-based Molloy College, which plans to phase in the new designation after its Class of 2022 completes commencement exercises in May.
Effective immediately, St. Joe’s – including its Long Island, Brooklyn and online campuses – shall be known as St. Joseph’s University, a well-earned elevation for the 106-year-old school, according to President Donald Boomgaarden.
“This is a proud day for every member of the St. Joseph’s community,” Boomgaarden said Thursday. “Since our founding in 1916 by the Sisters of St. Joseph, our mission has been to provide a strong academic and value-oriented education that supports provision for career preparation and enhancement for a diverse population of students.
Donald Boomgaarden: Banner day.
“These very same qualities are what will carry us forward under our new banner as a university.”
The change is more than simply semantic. There’s no exact, definable line between “college” and “university,” but colleges are usually smaller and more focused on undergraduate education, while universities tend to be larger and distinguished by graduate and post-graduate programs.
With close to 5,000 students, 1,500-plus annual graduates and more than 20 graduate-degree programs centered on business, nursing and other in-demand occupations, St. Joe’s is more than qualified to join Long Island’s pantheon of noted universities – including Stony Brook University, Hofstra University, Adelphi University, Long Island University, SUNY Old Westbury and the New York Institute of Technology – according to St. Joseph’s Chairman of the Board Christopher Carroll.
“Since its founding over a century ago, St. Joseph’s has always strived to be a center of learning and transformation,” Carroll said in a statement. “The change of the college’s designation to ‘university’ status … marks both a recognition of who we already are [and] the start of our next chapter as St. Joseph’s University.”
