Four County Executives Answer Questions at College Forum

Bergen County Executive James Tedesco III, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, Rockland County Executive Ed Day, and Westchester County Executive George Latimer (shown left to right) presented during this year’s County Executives Forum at Dominican College.

There was an interesting and informative discussion of regional issues at the annual County Executives Forum at Dominican College on Thursday, June 7, 2018, which featured County leaders from Bergen, Orange, Rockland, and Westchester Counties.

Bergen County Executive Joseph Tedesco III said that his County is experiencing growth near transportation.  “While we were traditionally a real suburban community, with the advent of the millennials wanting to be closer to transportation hubs,  that is now moving up into Bergen County,” he said.  Tedesco is pushing for an expansion of light rail into the east side of the County.

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus is particularly proud of the growth at Stewart Airport.  “Stewart Airport is booming.  Norwegian Airlines has double the amount of flights that are coming out of there.  You’ve got direct flights to Ireland, Scotland and Norway,” he said.  Neuhaus added that by  the end of the year,  there may be direct flights to Germany, London, and Paris as well.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day stressed that his focus has been on righting the County’s fiscal ship, economic development, and preserving Rockland.  “I’ve tried every step of the way to stay loyal to those three tenets that I ran on because frankly that’s what people voted for and I think that’s what they deserve,” he said.

Westchester’s advantages of being close to New York City with three direct train lines also mean more pressure on housing prices, according to Westchester County Executive George Latimer.  He said the  high cost of housing is one of Westchester’s biggest challenges.

The four County Executives also answered questions from business leaders in attendance, including questions about ethics, taxes, and transportation.

The Palisades Institute was created in 1990 as part of Dominican College to serve business, government, and not-for-profit organizations in Rockland and nearby counties.  The Institute encourages professionals to integrate the concepts of leadership, quality, and ethics to achieve long-term success.

June 8, 2018

ESPN Correspondent Delivers Inspiring Commencement Address

ESPN Correspondent and author Tom Rinaldi delivered the Commencement Address to Dominican College graduates on May 20, 2018.

ESPN Correspondent and author Tom Rinaldi delivered an inspiring and at times rousing address to the Class of 2018 during Dominican College’s 64th Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 20, 2018 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. A total of 572 students graduated — 123 with doctoral degrees, 100 with master’s degrees and 349 with bachelor’s degrees.

Graduates, their families, and friends all listened with rapt attention as Rinaldi recounted two stories.  The first story was about the parents of a two-month old child in a Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) who tragically did not survive.  Before the baby’s death, the parents arranged for him to have several experiences.  They brought a puppy into the NICU so the child could feel the fur.  They had a musician play a guitar so the child could hear music.  They took the baby off of his tubes and brought him outside so he could feel the sun on his face and the wind across his skin.  Finally, they put a bit of ice cream on the tip of his lips and the end of his tongue. Rinaldi told the graduates, “You get to experience those things every single day as you find your place in the world. So keep your capacity for wonder and appreciation over the wind and the life and the sun and the taste and the sound that surrounds you as you make your life.”

Rinaldi then told the story of Welles Remy Crowther – the Nyack High School graduate and 9-11 hero known as the “man with the red bandanna.”  He described how Welles led many to safety on 9-11 and saved lives.  During his speech, Rinaldi asked the graduates to raise their right hands as high as they could. “Do this for yourselves and for everybody else.  Don’t just reach up, reach out – reach out to touch, to teach, to inspire, to give, to grasp,” he said.

Rinaldi has won twelve national Sports Emmy Awards and six national Edward R. Murrow Awards.  His 2016 book, “The Red Bandanna: A Life. A Choice. A Legacy” was on the New York Times Best Sellers list. During the Commencement Ceremony, Rinaldi received an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.

Others honored at the Commencement Exercises included:

  • Judith Kydon, M.A., M.Ed., President and CEO of St. Dominic’s Family Services, received an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humanities.
  • Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe was awarded the Veritas Medal for his service to the community.
  • Wendy St. Felix, ’17, DNP, Family Nurse Practitioner at the Montefiore School Health Program at P.S. 85 in the Bronx, received the 2018 Badami Outstanding Alumna Award.


COMMENCEMENT by Dominican College on EXPOSURE

May 21, 2018

Class of 2018 Senior Gift Unveiled

On the eve of Commencement, a new stainless steel arts sculpture that represents a  flame and rotates with the wind was unveiled.  The sculpture was a gift from the Class of 2018.   It is located on a brick pedestal outside of the entrance to the new fitness center.

The new sculpture represents a flame because when St. Dominic’s mother was pregnant, she dreamed of a dog that held a torch in its mouth.  The dream is believed to symbolize St. Dominic spreading God’s light around the world.

The Senior Class Gift has become an annual tradition at Dominican College and is a way for graduating seniors to show their appreciation to the College. “We want each senior class to leave a legacy at the College,” said Sal Pennino, Sr. Advancement Officer, who advised the eight student members of the Senior Gift Committee. “This is also the first opportunity for these students to give back to the College.  That’s important because we rely on our alumni to support the College.”

Past senior gifts include the Charlie the Charger statue, the Hennessy Center flag pole, the Alumni Book of Remembrance, and the Student Life Wall Mural in the Granito Center.

The student members of the 2018 Senior Gift Committee were Amanda Corriere, Amanda Magnotta, John Ameen, Hannah Ameen, Miriam Taylor, Joe Piccini, Patricia Simmons, and Stefani Reyes.

May 20, 2018

Live Stream: Commencement 2019

PLAYBACK BEGINS @1:30

May 20, 2018

College President Receives Leadership Award

Sr. Mary Eileen O’Brien, O.P., Ph.D., shown here with Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archibishop of New York, after she received the Our Lady of Rosary Leadership Award.

Dominican College President Sr. Mary Eileen O’Brien, O.P., Ph.D., received the Our Lady of Rosary Leadership Award at the Inaugural Catholic School Breakfast on April 30, 2018. St. Thomas Aquinas College President Dr. Margaret Mary Fitpatrick, S.C., Ed.D., also received the award.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, was a special guest at the event and said it was “providential” that two Sisters were being honored. “Remember what Pope Francis said in St. Patrick’s Cathedral when he visited three years ago: ‘Where would the Catholic Church of the United States be without the Sisters?’”

About 450 representatives of Rockland Catholic schools attended the breakfast, which raised money to provide scholarships for students attending Catholic schools.

April 30, 2018

Honors Night Showcases Best Students

Front row, left to right: Michelle Migliaccio, Victoria Szabo, Christine Ditzel, and Alexa Trembone. Back row, left to right: Jennifer Heller, Tarik Stowe, and Eric Rizzo.

The best and brightest students at Dominican College were showcased on Thursday, April 26, during the Honors Night celebration.  AnnMarie DelliPizzi, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology and Honors Program Director,  spoke at the ceremony before a total of eight juniors and seniors in the program presented their honors projects.

“The projects that will be presented here tonight, summed up in a 10-minute presentation, represent countless hours of hard work and dedication, not only by the students, but also by their faculty mentors,“ said DelliPizzi.  “Education is so important to these students, that they have utilized whatever “spare” time they had to complete these projects, while simultaneously completing the demanding requirements of their own majors.  Getting to this point is difficult, but these students have persevered and we are proud.”

The honors students who presented their projects were: Christine Ditzel, Victoria Szabo, Emily Lazarus, Eric Rizzo, Tarik Stowe, Michelle Migliaccio, Jennifer Heller, and Alexa Trembone,

DelliPizzi said Honors Night is a celebration of these students who have strived for the best and understand the meaning of excellence.  The students were presented with a gold cord to wear on graduation day to signify that they successfully completed the requirements of the honors program.

April 27, 2018

Seniors Present Their Research Projects

Kraigen Rasalla was one of the presenters at the Senior Scholars’ Presentations. His project was entitled “Social Media’s Influence on Professional Sports Branding.”

Seniors in our Liberal Arts program presented their research projects on Thursday, April 26, in the Lawrence Room of Rosary Hall.  The students explained the results of their capstone projects to fellow students, faculty, and administrators.  Dr. Mark Meachem, Director of the Arts & Sciences Division,  said the students have been working on these projects throughout the year.

“Students had the opportunity to go through the entire process of a research project – from developing the idea and a method, to then implementing it, dealing with the results, and finally being able to understand and explain the results, “ he said.

About 30 liberal arts research projects were on display  — with some students working together on a topic.  Dr. Meachem said the projects help prepare students for a career or graduate level work

In the classical sense, Artes Liberales refers to the essential education focused on general skills (artes) that every free person (liberales) needed to know in order to contribute meaningfully to their community and society.  The liberal arts, in modern times and at Dominican College, includes a study focused on the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences.

April 26, 2018

Students Celebrate Earth Week

During a ceremony in her honor, Dr. Kathleen Hinge — the 2018 Friend of the Earth Honoree — helped plant a tree outside the Granito Center.

Students and faculty participated in a week of activities leading up to Earth Day on Sunday, April 22.  One of the highlights of the week was the planting of a tree in honor of Physics and Mathematics Professor Dr. Kathleen Conlon Hinge.  Dr. Hinge received the 2018 Friend of the Earth Award.

Chancellor of External Affairs Sr. Kathleen Sullivan, O.P., said Professor Hinge was chosen to receive the award because of her accomplishments as Science Department Coordinator. “She has introduced new courses and a minor in Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability,” said Sr. Kathleen. “ She also arranged for a visit to campus by a renowned environmentalist and Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow who spoke to many classes and groups on “The Last Chance for the Earth:  Why Scientists and Citizens Must Act Now.”

Some of the other Earth Week activities included a campus seed planting, a sustainable cooking demonstration by celebrity chef Aarti Sequeira, a campus cleanup, and participation in the United Way Spring Day of Caring.

 

April 19, 2018

CEO of JAG Physical Therapy Named College’s 2018 Person of the Year

John Gallucci, Jr. is the first alumnus to be named as a Dominican College Person of the Year.

Dominican College and its Board of Trustees have named John Gallucci, Jr., MS, ATC, PT, DPT, President and CEO of JAG Physical Therapy, as Dominican College’s 2018 Person of the Year.  Gallucci will be honored at the 46th Annual Grand Reception on Sunday, April 29, 2018 at 3 p.m. at the Palisadium in Cliffside Park, N.J.

“We are so proud to announce that for the first time ever we will be honoring an alumnus as the College’s Person of the Year,” said Sr. Mary Eileen O’Brien, O.P., Ph.D., President of the College. “John was chosen for his outstanding professional leadership, his community involvement, and his philanthropic works.”

In addition to his work at JAG Physical Therapy, Gallucci sits as the Chair of the New Jersey Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and is the medical consultant for Major League Soccer (MLS).   Prior to opening JAG Physical Therapy in 2005, Gallucci served as the Program Director of Barnabas Health’s Sports Medicine Institute. He is the former Head Athletic Trainer of the New York Red Bulls MLS team and is a sports medicine consultant for professional athletes in the NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLB. He has also worked in the athletic departments of Columbia University, New York University and Long Island University, and has been a clinical instructor at Dominican College, Columbia University, Seton Hall University, and Rutgers University.

As a popular motivational speaker and business coach, Gallucci has presented for a wide variety of companies and media outlets, including ESPN, Fox 5, PIX11, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and UPS.

Always looking to give back to the local community, Gallucci has been active in a number of philanthropic endeavors. He has taken on a leading role in fundraisers for the Valerie Fund, the Arthritis Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In addition, he supports more than 100 high schools, college programs and athletic clubs throughout the Tri-State Area.

Gallucci was a 2017 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Regional Award Winner and has been featured as one of the “20 People to Watch in Health” by 201 Magazine. He released his first book, “Soccer Injury Prevention and Treatment” in May 2014. His second book, “Play Ball: Don’t Let Injuries Sideline You This Season” is set to release on May 1, 2018.

Gallucci received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of Staten Island and a master’s degree in athletic training from Long Island University. He completed his education at Dominican College by earning a master’s degree in physical therapy in 2004 and a doctorate in physical therapy in 2007.

Tickets to the Grand Reception honoring Gallucci can be purchased  here.   For additional information, please contact Mary Lichtman at 845-848-7406 or mary.lichtman@duny.edu.

 

March 28, 2018

ESPN Correspondent To Deliver Commencement Address

ESPN National Correspondent Tom Rinaldi will deliver Dominican College’s Commencement Address.

Tom Rinaldi, National Correspondent for ESPN, will deliver the Commencement Address at Dominican College’s 64thCommencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 20, 2018 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains and will receive an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.  Rinaldi has won twelve national Sports Emmy Awards and six national Edward R. Murrow Awards.  His 2016 book, “The Red Bandanna: A Life. A Choice. A Legacy” was on the New York Times Best Sellers list and chronicles the story of the 9-11 hero and Nyack High School graduate Welles Remy Crowther.

Others who will be honored at the Commencement Exercises include:

  • Judith Kydon, M.A., M.Ed., President and CEO of St. Dominic’s Family Services, will receive an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humanities.
  • Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe, will be awarded the Veritas Medal for his service to the community.
  • Wendy St. Felix, ’17, DNP, Family Nurse Practitioner at the Montefiore School Health Program at P.S. 85 in the Bronx, will receive the 2018 Outstanding Alumna Award.

A total of 572 students will graduate — 123 with doctoral degrees, 100 with master’s degrees,  and 349 with bachelor’s degrees.

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March 26, 2018

Annual Career Fair is Open to the Public

About 40 businesses and organizations will be represented at the Dominican College Career Fair on April 11, 2018.

About 40 businesses and organizations interested in hiring will be at Dominican College on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 for the annual Dominican College Career Fair. The event is open to the public.  Don’t miss this opportunity to meet company recruiters, apply for jobs and internships, and polish your networking skills.  Attendees will also be able to have their photo taken to use on their LinkedIn profile.  The event will take place in the Hennessy Center, 495 Western Highway, Blauvelt, NY from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Businesses participating in the Career Fair include Liberty Coca-Cola, New York Life, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., and Crystal Run Healthcare.  Insurance agencies, health agencies, not-for-profit organizations, law enforcement, government agencies, and the military will all be represented at the event.  Visit: www.duny.edu/events/career-fair-2018/  to view a listing of companies that will be in attendance.  Businesses interested in recruiting at the event can also register at that site.  For additional information, please call 845-848-4032/4033.

March 22, 2018

Visiting Fellow Urges Students to Speak Out About Climate Change

Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow Dr. Robert K. Musil delivered a lecture entitled “Last Chance for the Environment? Why Scientists and Citizens Must Act” on March, 19, 2018 in the Fury Lecture Hall.

Environmental leader and author Dr. Robert K. Musil, head of the Rachel Carson Council and former CEO of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Physicians for Social Responsibility, urged students to speak out about climate change during a March 19, 2018 speech in the Fury Lecture Hall.

During his lecture entitled, “Last Chance for the Environment? Why Scientists and Citizens Must Act,” Dr. Musil said the science behind climate change is undeniable and the students should speak up, march, lobby, and finally, un-elect those who will not pay attention.

”Unless you all make it part of what you do – when you wake up, when you go to bed, and in 2018 – things aren’t going to change in your lifetime, and they will get very bad,” he said.  “There will be more Superstorm Sandys.  There will be more forest fires.  There will be more destruction of coastal lands. It will be bad.”

Dr. Musil is visiting Dominican College for several days and speaking with a variety of classes as part of the Council of Independent Colleges Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows Program. This program brings prominent artists, diplomats, journalists, business leaders, and other nonacademic professionals to campuses across the United States for substantive dialogue with students and faculty members.

 

 

March 20, 2018