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Learning for life
FOCUS ON
NEW ROCHELLE
Monroe College knows it has a good home in the city of New Rochelle, so since its inception,
the College has made sure to show its appreciation. Now, 80 years later, both Mon- roe College and the New Rochelle commu- nity have a lot to celebrate.
“We are constantly improving,” says Mon- roe’s Executive Vice President Marc Jerome, who is infusing the college with third-gen- eration leadership, following a path set out by his grandfather and great aunt. “Not only do we want the best for our students and their educational experience, but we want to give back to the New Rochelle community as well, helping the city to grow and thrive as we do.”
That’s why the College is in the process of building a new dormitory on Main Street. “This facility will help to centralize the Monroe campus, and, in turn, give a little
more life to the downtown area,” Jerome comments. The dormitory will help to house a portion of Monroe’s 2,500 students, who come from all over the country and the world. “We educate students from over
60 countries and over 20 states. We want those students to have a second home here at Monroe and in New Rochelle,” says Jerome.
The campus isn’t the only part of Monroe that’s expanding. The College continues to offer degrees that are in demand, and has just been approved to offer a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing. This fall, Monroe will also launch two new Master’s programs—one in Public Health and one in Hospitality.
Over the last year, both of these depart- ments have gained great momentum and recognition. In March, Monroe’s Allied Health department sent a group of students on a life-changing medical mission to Jamaica, where they helped to provide treatment, education, and supplies to an underprivi- leged community in Montego Bay.
Under the leadership of Dean Frank Costantino, the Culinary and Hospitality programs continue to flourish. The Culinary team has won 350 competition medals
in the last year alone. “We’ve really built a high-quality program,” says Dean Costan- tino. “We come into these competitions—
regional, national competitions—and we rise to the top. Our students are professional and passionate.”
Those students are also learning what it’s like in the real world—while they’re in
the classroom. The Culinary and Hospitality department has opened The Dining Lab, which is a full-service restaurant at the heart of the New Rochelle campus. The food is prepared by culinary students and served by hospitality students. “It’s amazing to see these students in action. They’re getting real, hands-on experience while earning credit. And, the food is delicious,” says Jerome.
Monroe students are shining in the classroom, but they’re excelling on the field, court, and track, too. Monroe Athletics draws more than 500 athletes to its New Rochelle campus and fields teams in four- teen sports. “We continue to see athletes with immense talent in our programs. We’ve competed at the national level a number of times,” Jerome says. “This fall, we’ll begin our second season of Monroe College Foot- ball, and we hope this program becomes just as successful.”
Over the next 80 years, Monroe College plans to work with the New Rochelle com- munity to reach new levels of success—and to help New Rochelle to do the same.
NR8 Q3 2013