Mount to Honor Founders of College

NEWBURGH, N.Y., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Mount Saint Mary College will honor the Sisters of Saint Dominic who founded the college at a convocation at 11:30 a.m., Thursday (Oct. 29), in Aquinas Hall Theatre. New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan will be the keynote speaker. The public is welcome.

Sr. Lorelle Elcock, O.P., prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Hope, will speak on behalf of the sisters. Fr. Kevin E. Mackin, O.F.M., Mount president, will confer honorary degrees upon the Dominican Sisters and Dolan. Sr. Ann Sakac, O.P., president emerita, who served as president for 31 of the Mount's 50 years, will be the master of ceremonies.

The sisters came to Newburgh in 1883 to start an elementary school. Thirty years later they bought the adjoining Van Duzer estate and started teaching high school classes. In 1927 the sisters built a high school and with the continuing success of their educational mission, the sisters started a teacher training school in 1930.

In 1955 the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York granted the Mount a provisional charter to grant the associate of arts degree. The Board of Regents amended the college's charter October 30, 1959, and the Mount became a four-year liberal arts college. For 50 years the Mount has been a beacon of enlightenment to thousands of students, creating productive and value-laden citizens and providing opportunities for cultural and intellectual growth to the community.

The Mount will confer an honorary doctor of humane letters upon Dolan in appreciation of his service and leadership in the Catholic Church and his advocacy for education.

The convocation will also recognize the recipients of Dominican Sisters of Hope Scholarships.

The Sisters of Saint Dominic are part of a worldwide Catholic family of sisters, friars, and lay men and women comprising the Order of Preachers (O.P.)

To learn more about the convocation, call Ann Damiano at 845-569-3176.

The Mount's 2,700 students pursue career preparation through undergraduate studies in many fields including communications, business management, education, the health professions and social sciences and through graduate programs in business, education and nursing.

Visit the Mount at www.msmc.edu.