College of Saint Elizabeth Names Dr. Harriet Sepinwall Professor of Holocaust Studies

The College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE) has appointed Dr. Harriet Sepinwall as professor Holocaust studies beginning in the fall 2010. In this new role, Dr. Sepinwall will continue to advance the mission of the Holocaust Education Resource Center (HERC) that was established in 1994 on the CSE campus at 2 Convent Road, Morristown.

The appointment of Dr. Sepinwall to her new position is another illustration of the College’s commitment to its mission of fostering just and ethical relationships in a spirit of service and social responsibility for others. Explains Dr. Jim Dlugos, vice president and dean for academic affairs, “The College of Saint Elizabeth Holocaust Resource Center aims to encourage remembrance of the Holocaust and to promote respect for diversity. By providing an opportunity for serious Jewish-Christian theological dialogue, it is opening doors through which many are experiencing mutual respect and understanding.”

Dr. Harriet Sepinwall, who has been professor of education and history at CSE since 1980, is a founding co-director of HERC, along with Sister Kathleen Flanagan, professor and director of the graduate program in theology.

“Sister Kathleen and I are so fortunate to have had the encouragement and support for this work from the leadership of the College who have had a special vision for what we needed to do to ensure that the work we did had integrity and support,” comments Dr. Sepinwall. “With this appointment, the College has shown confidence in us to continue this work. It is so amazing to have such wonderful encouragement for our work from so many on our campus, including students, faculty, staff, administration and alumni. We also count as our supporters the survivors who trust to tell their stories and the outstanding scholars who come to our campus from all over the United States and the world to help us educate others.”

Dr. Sepinwall has been involved in teacher education for many years, for both undergraduates and in-service teachers. She received her doctorate in educational foundations that included study of history, sociology, anthropology and philosophy of education from Rutgers University. Her teaching has included multicultural, human rights and Holocaust education. She has been involved in Holocaust education on campus, statewide, and nationally and has developed conferences, commemorations, and workshops for teaching about the Holocaust to diverse students and to the community. She has spoken and provided workshops for educators for many years, including annual presentations at the National Catholic Educational Association, and she presented a workshop at Yad Vashem’s International Education Conference in 2008 related to her work.

Dr. Sepinwall received a fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton for the American Civil Liberties at Times of Crisis program, and was chosen as a Wye Faculty Fellow. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the College of Saint Elizabeth Caritas Award and the Axelrod Award for teaching about the Holocaust and genocide, given by New Jersey-Anti-Defamation League (NJ-ADL) and the N.J. Commission on Holocaust Education. She is a member of the New Jersey-Israel Commission.

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at http://www.cse.edu/.

CSE Director Teri Corso Honored by NEASEA

Teri Corso, director of career services at the College of Saint Elizabeth, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J., is the recipient of the Robert Gallione, Jr., District Representative of the Year Award, presented by the Northeast Association of Student Employment Administrators (NEASEA) at their annual conference held August 1 to 4, 2010, in Annapolis, Md.

NEASEA is a nonprofit association of professionals involved with programs for students who work while attending college. NEASEA members are professionals from educational institutions, business, industry, labor and government who have an interest in the employment of students on a part- or full-time basis and who support on-campus and off-campus student work programs including community service, cooperative education programs, internship and summer employment programs. Corso, a resident of Stillwater, N.J., has been a member of NEASEA since 2001 and a district representative for the past two years for District 4, which encompasses western Connecticut, downstate New York, northern New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

“Teri Corso is a wonderful example of what a district representative should be,” says Jennifer Heller, vice president of membership for NEASEA. “She involves current NEASEA members, goes out of her way to contact non-members and invite them to her meetings, therefore advertising and getting non-members involved in the organization, and invites speakers to her meetings that are relevant to today’s student employment professional. She is active in our organization. I hope that when her term as a district representative is up, she will consider staying active as a part of our organization.”

Corso has been at CSE since 2008. Prior to coming to the College, she was director of career services at Bloomfield College. She is a graduate of Centenary College where she earned a master’s degree in leadership and public administration and from Bloomfield College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and a diversity training certificate.

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.

CSE President Sr. Francis Raftery and Television Host Benedict Groeschel Honored by SOAR!

Sister Francis Raftery SC, EdD, LHD, president of the College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE), and Father Benedict J. Groeschel, a well known author and television talk host, will be the honorees at the 24th annual benefit dinner for Support Our Aging Religious (SOAR!) at the Union League Club in Manhattan on Wednesday, October 6, 2010, beginning at 6 p.m.

The proceeds from the $275 dinner tickets help SOAR! make grants that assist religious congregations in need of very basic help, such as the purchase of therapeutic equipment, the renovation of space for handicapped accessibility and structural safety, and the installation of fire alarm and wander guard systems. Through this fundamental assistance many more women and men religious live out the last years of their lives in dignity, safety, and with modest care. For information and reservations, contact Peg Zukowski at 732-564-9975 or bpzuk@aol.com . The deadline for journal advertisements is September 3, 2010. For more information about SOAR! visit http://www.soar-usa.org/ or call 202-529-7627 or 800-403-7627.

SOAR! was founded in 1986 as the direct result of a Wall Street Journal article that brought attention to the retirement needs of women and men religious in the United States. The organization raises national public awareness of the religious retirement crisis and provides financial resources to Catholic religious congregations to care for their elderly and infirm members.

Sister Raftery will be presented the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Award for her distinguished service to the Catholic community where she inspires and empowers others through education. Sister Raftery has been a recipient of the National Catholic Education Association’s Outstanding Educator Award and she has served as the chairperson of the department of Education at CSE from 1972 to 1986 and as a faculty member from 1964 to 1986. Sister Francis served as Provincial of the Sisters of Charity of the Western Provence and as a member of the General Council of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth.

Sister Raftery is the past president of the New Jersey Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and has been active in the Teacher Education Roundtable, the National Association of State Directors for Teacher Education Certification, the National Catholic Education Association, the New Jersey Education Association, the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

Father Groeschel will be presented the Father Victor Yanitelli, SJ, Award for his love of God, that is reflected in his giving of himself to those in need.

Father Groeschel is recognized for a number of accomplishments since becoming a priest in 1959. He was the chaplain of the Children’s Village, a facility for emotionally disturbed children in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. He has taught classes at Fordham University, Iona College and Maryknoll Seminary. He founded the St. Francis House in Brooklyn that is a safe haven for young men looking for a new start. He was requested to direct a program for spiritual development for the Archdiocese of New York where he continues to serve today.

In 1985 he co-founded the Good Counsel Homes, located in several New York sites, for homeless pregnant women and children. He is the author of more than 30 books and currently hosts a weekly EWTN television program, “Sunday Night Live with Father Benedict Groeschel.”

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.

Rev. Mpho Tutu to Speak at College of Saint Elizabeth, September 7, 2010

Rev. Mpho Tutu, author of the recently published book, Made for Goodness, will speak in the Dolan Performance Hall, Annunciation Center, at the College of Saint Elizabeth, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J., on September 7, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are priced at $25.

Rev. Tutu is the daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu with whom she wrote the book.

An Episcopal priest and an experienced preacher, teacher, and retreat facilitator, Rev. Tutu, is the founder and executive director of the Tutu Institute for Prayer & Pilgrimage, located in Alexandria, Va. She has run ministries for children in downtown Worcester, Mass.; for rape survivors in Grahamstown, South Africa; and for refugees from South Africa and Namibia at Phelps Stokes, an organization located in New York City that connects emerging leaders and organizations in Africa and the Americas with resources to help them advance social and economic development.

Rev. Tutu earned her Master of Divinity degree from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., and began her ordained ministry at historic Christ Church in Alexandria, Va. Rev. Tutu is the Chairperson Emerita of the Board of the Global AIDS Alliance, the Chairperson of the Board of Advisors of the 911 Unity Walk, and a trustee of Angola University.

For more information about this event, visit the CSE website at http://www.cse.edu/ or call 973-290-4378 or email at events@cse.edu.

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at http://www.cse.edu/.