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Inaugural Address
Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., President
 Good afternoon. Thank you for being here today.
There are so many people I would like to thank for this day, but the list is much too long. Let me just say “thank you” to the Saint Peter’s College community, to Chairman Ziegler and the Board of Trustees, to Bob Goldstein and the Board of Regents, to the Jesuit Community, to the members of the Presidential Search committee, to the students who gave me and the College a most amazing week of celebration and fun, and to the Inauguration Committee, and especially Dr. Eileen Poiani, who did a phenomenal job putting it all together.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Let me also say that I am truly touched by the presence of so many of my family members and friends. Thank you to my wife, AnnMarie, who is a woman of extraordinary courage, energy and grace. And thank you my two wonderful daughters, Lauren and Katie. I am so proud of you both. But let me also say thank you to two individuals who are not with us today: my dad who is unable to join us due to poor health and my mom who, though she passed away in 2001, is smiling broadly today.
A number of people have asked me why I want to be a College president at this time in the history of higher education. Colleges and universities are buffeted by an extraordinary array of pressures, both internal and external, that make leading such institutions a challenge at best. For me, the answer is rooted in the special character and mission of Saint Peter’s College and the four themes that animate this inaugural event and I hope my presidency.
The College: 135 Years of Growth, Challenge and Change
This year Saint Peter’s College celebrates the 135th anniversary of its founding.
In 1872, Jersey City was a bustling port and a manufacturing center. The city was teaming with new immigrants who arrived in a fairly constant flow, thanks to Ellis Island which was (and is) a stone’s throw away. Given its extraordinary location, Jersey City was also a major transportation center for New York City and these new Americans came here in search of work.
They found it along the riverfront at Colgate, Dixon Ticonderoga Pencil Co., and especially the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
When Father Victor Beaudevin of the Society of Jesus established the College here in that same year he set out to address the educational and spiritual needs of the children of these immigrants.
Saint Peter’s was located down on Grand Street near the waterfront and consisted of just one building. It housed both the College and the Prep.
The first entering class had 71 students from Hudson County and New York City. They were all male -- they were mostly of Irish and German heritage, and they reflected the background of the waves of immigrants arriving in the area. Of course, they commuted to class every day.
There was great skepticism in 1872 that people would find a Jesuit education in the heart of this city appealing. Yet Father Beaudevin and his small band of Jesuits persisted because they knew, deep in their hearts, that their mission was noble and important and that a College education for the children of these immigrant families -- based on a commitment to faith, reason, service and justice - was worth it. And he was right.
But, even Father Beaudevin -- blessed with unusual foresight -- could not have envisioned the changes that would come to Saint Peter’s College and to Jersey City over the next 135 years.
Today, Saint Peter’s celebrates one of the most diverse student populations to be found at any of the 28 Jesuit Colleges in the nation. This year’s student body hails from nearly all the 21 New Jersey counties and 24 other states. They speak nearly 40 languages and, most incredibly, were born in over 70 countries. The country flags around this center signify the multi-cultural heritage of the Saint Peter’s of today.
More than half of our students are the first in their family to go to College.
And in many ways – its history and experience mirrors my own. My father emigrated from Italy when he was nine. Though a very good student in high school, a College education was not feasible since he had to go to work to help support his family. But he had a gift—a facility for math and accounting and a willingness to work very hard. Had it not been for his determination to give his children a better life, I would not have had the opportunity to attend Fordham University. My mother was the daughter of successful Italian immigrants. And while she had the opportunity to go to college, she never did because in 1937 it was largely true that, in her words, “women didn’t go to College.” But she too was determined that her children would have a College education.
Our College’s story is intimately intertwined with this city’s history and fortunes. Like this city, the College has faced many challenges—urban decline that made it an unattractive location for a private College. Booms and busts in student enrollment, financial challenges, and a world war that closed its doors – reflected simply but poignantly in the College’s yearbook of 1918 with the words: "the classrooms went empty. The faculty closed their mark books, and left for the battlefields."
Yet each challenge gave rise to exciting opportunities for renewal and growth.
Today, 135 years after Father Victor Beaudevin and his early companions, Father George Kenney and Father John McQuaid “set up shop” on Grand Street, Jersey City, soon to be the largest city in the state, is the nation’s seventh largest Class A office market—bigger than Atlanta--with financial giants like Fidelity Investments, JP Morgan Chase, Charles Schwab, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs now calling this side of the Hudson River waterfront home. Now known as ‘Wall Street West,” Jersey City has become New York City’s sixth borough1. Restaurants, galleries, parks, including Liberty State Park, a host of upscale shopping venues, and breathtaking views now characterize the new riverfront area.
And while Colgate,Ticonderoga Pencil and even the mammoth Pennsylvania Railroad Company have all left their home or have gone under -- Saint Peter’s – the rock-- has survived. No! Saint Peter’s has flourished! And it has remained at the center of this reinvented, dynamic, exciting city. Today, October 20, 2007, Saint Peter’s College is prospering anew - proud as a peacock!
How has this happened? How was the College able to endure and then thrive when other Jersey City institutions did not? The answer lies in our commitment to the four themes of this inauguration: faith, reason, service and justice.
Theme One: Dedicated to Faith
Saint Peter’s College is a faith-based community. As a Catholic College our vision of life and learning is inspired by the person of Christ. This vision is one of a compassionate, caring, just and loving person. And as his followers and as a Catholic institution, we are called to follow his example.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, urged us to be committed to the development of the whole person—the mind, body, and spirit. Ignatius understood that faith – the spirit – can be uniquely nourished in educational institutions.
Ignatius also taught us to “see God in all things.” He encouraged his Jesuit brothers to participate in the culture and life of the local community—to break bread with them literally and spiritually. It is by finding common ground in our faith traditions and through an appreciation of our common humanity that we can see the way to a peaceful and just world.
Saint Peter’s is today a community of many faiths: Catholic, of course, but also Jewish, Baptist, Hindu, and Muslim. We celebrate them all. We “feed” the spirit here in a wide variety of ways, including liturgies, discussion groups, retreats, interfaith prayer, service projects, music, and a number of formal and informal opportunities to break bread with other members of this faith community.
Theme Two: Grounded in Reason
Jesuit education seeks to open students’ minds to the vast riches of human experience and thought, to promote a greater understanding of our world and to enable them to discern truth. Jesuit education accepts the inherent value and power of intelligent and dispassionate thought.
Jesuit education has as its foundation the ordering of reality by intellect – that is, analytical reasoning guides intellectual inquiry. Reflective thought is essential to be a fully free person, both in the educational process and in life in general. Thus, we strive to instill in our students a desire to seek truth by applying their abstract reasoning, critical thinking, and communication skills.
Jesuit education especially values the study of theology and philosophy precisely because both promote the habit of reflective thought which reveals truth. Aristotle and Plato are valued because they provide a framework for rigorous philosophical analysis and insight into philosophical truths; Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas because they offer exceptional insights into theological truths2.
Colleges and universities are, and must remain, hallowed places of intellectual discussion. But if we are to be true to our educational mission, we must ensure that academic freedom--the freedom to pursue truth in all areas of human understanding—remains vibrant. Academic excellence—clarity of thought, critical analysis, open-mindedness, respect for complexity--is the linchpin of academic freedom. As Father Theodore Hesburg put it, we must “be faithful to the wisdom of the past, relevant to the present, and open to the future.” 3
Theme Three: Engaged in Service
Jesuits have long taught us that we must be “men and women for others,” that is, we must live our lives as Christ lived his—in service to those less fortunate than ourselves. According to Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, we are called:
To be men and women who reflect upon the reality of the world around you with all its ambiguities, opportunities, and challenges, to discern what is really happening in your life and in the lives of others, to find God there and to discover where God is calling you, to employ criteria for significant choices that reflect Godly values rather than narrow, exclusive self-interest, to make decisions in the light of what is truly for the greater glory of God and the service of those in need, and then to act accordingly.4
Here at Saint Peter’s we provide students with many opportunities to serve the community, engage in self-discovery, and have life changing experiences so that they may become more fully formed human beings in the Ignatian spirit. This past year alone, 60% of our students volunteered in 45 agencies, programs, and schools. Saint Peter’s students and faculty contributed more than 16,500 hours of service. Each of them began their own personal journey towards being “men and women for others.”
It is through service to others we learn to appreciate the gift of our own life and to better understand and connect with others of all faiths, backgrounds, and circumstances. Service provides us with an opportunity to step out of our everyday routines and be more outwardly focused and it promotes civic responsibility, strengthens our communities and supports justice.
Theme Four: Committed to Justice
Catholic social teaching is rooted in the principle of the sanctity of human life and the inviolability of human dignity. In a world increasingly characterized by huge gaps between rich and poor, by abundant riches for some and desperate poverty for others; in a world in which dehumanization, materialism, and selfishness is deeply rooted in the culture and behavior patterns of young and old alike, Catholic teaching tells us that the test of a moral society is how our most vulnerable members are treated.
And so we are called, by Christ’s words and deeds, to work for justice and to always keep “the preferential option for the poor” at the heart of all that we do. We must be fully committed to respecting life—all life—to protecting and fully actualizing human rights, to nurturing the family, to respecting and protecting the environment, to engaging in community building, and to personal witness.
How do we accomplish this in an increasing global, complex, even chaotic world? At Saint Peter’s College, we educate for justice. In our curriculum, students are exposed to the great moral and justice issues of our time and are encouraged to reflect and act on them. We strive to help students develop their own “voice” on issues. Through course work, Speakers series, service initiatives, and liturgies, we call our students to know, reflect, and act upon injustices. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., to whom Saint Peter’s College awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws and Letters in 1965, observed:
Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right. 5
We expect Saint Peter’s students will know and do what is right. And because our graduates go on to become leaders in their respective fields and in their communities, through our commitment to educating for justice, we will also influence the powerful to change the world.
The Future
Over the course of this year I will be leading the College forward toward a vision of the future. It will come as a result of a strategic planning process that will engage the entire College community.
However, I have no doubt that this is Saint Peter’s century.
As we approach the end of the first decade of this new century, Saint Peter’s College is poised for even stronger growth and yet greater prominence.
Increasing interest in a Catholic, Jesuit education in this multicultural metropolitan environment—the real world—means that we shall have to embark on a growth plan: constructing buildings, expanding programs, and investing in the people of the College community.
The planned student center is essential to continued growth, strengthening community, and student engagement. Another residence hall on the east campus will ensure that we can accommodate all the students that wish to be part of the Saint Peter’s experience. To accomplish these goals we will need to undertake a major capital campaign.
But ultimately, Saint Peter’s is not about buildings. It is about people, community and what goes on in and outside the classroom. We are first and foremost about transformation—that through an education inspired by the word of God and committed to academic excellence, our students will find meaning and purpose in life.
On this rock in Jersey City, New Jersey, Saint Peter and the Jesuits have built an outstanding College capable of changing the world, as we promise today: One Student At a Time.
That is why I am thrilled to be the 22nd president of Saint Peter’s College.
Thank you.
- “An Economic Resource Guide to Jersey City, NJ: New Jersey’s Cultural Oasis. Your Gateway to Opportunity.” Jersey City Economic Development Corporation and “Jersey City Landlords Prosper in New York City’s Shadow,” J. Alex Tarquinio, New York Times, August 29, 2007.
- Otto Bird, “The Difference of a Catholic University,” in Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., The Challenge and Promise of A Catholic University (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994), p. 29.
- Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., The Challenge and Promise of A Catholic University (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994), p. 9.
- Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, 1997
- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Address at SCLC Ministers Leadership Training Program, February 23, 1968.
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