Caldwell College Celebrates 69th Commencement
Caldwell, NJ - May 22, 2011 - Caldwell College celebrated the graduation of 418 students at its 69th Commencement Ceremony on Sunday May 22 in the George R. Newman Center on campus.
President Nancy H. Blattner presented undergraduates with their Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and the graduate students with their Master of Arts or Master of Business Administration degrees. The College graduated 295 undergraduate students and 123 graduate students.
Honorary degrees were awarded to Sister Gerardine Mueller, O.P., professional artist, professor emerita at Caldwell College and a Sister of St. Dominic of Caldwell and Dr. Tyrone Bentley, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Director of the Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, and Medical Director of the Autism Center at the New Jersey Medical School at UMDNJ.
Sister Gerardine’s teaching career spans over 60 years. She founded the Caldwell College Art Department in 1963 and later, under her continued leadership, Caldwell College became the first in New Jersey to offer the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her works of stained glass, sculpture, woodcarving, printmaking, calligraphy and illumination can be seen been seen in churches, colleges, universities, museums, and private homes around the world. Sister told the graduates she had one piece of advice for them. “If you see something that should be done, work toward it.”
Dr. Tyrone Bentley serves those with autism spectrum disorders and their families in the greater Newark region and the surrounding communities with effective and compassionate care. He developed an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Parent Training Program at the Autism Center to provide assistance for the entire family. This program, which is also an affiliate site for Caldwell College’s graduate programs in ABA, provides Caldwell students with the unique opportunity to serve on a multi-disciplinary team under Dr. Bentley’s supervision and expertise. Dr. Bentley said that he is looking forwarding to working in collaboration with Caldwell College to “raise the bar” in quality care for families and children affected by autism.
The commencement address was given by Caldwell College graduating Senior Vanessa Treus of North Bergen, NJ. Treus, a Psychology major with an English minor, is the first person in her family to receive a college degree. She is also the recipient of the 2011 Caldwell College Trustee Recognition Award.
Drawing from the children’s book Alice in Wonderland, Treus told the graduates that the story, “offers words of wisdom for our future.” She recalled that Alice was given advice from characters like: the talking doorknob who said, “Nothing is impossible”; the grinning Cheshire cat who said, “You’re sure to get where you’re going if you walk long enough”; and from the White Queen who said, “You must believe in at least six impossible things before breakfast.” Treus told her fellow classmates to “remember that for all of us, this moment, like the story, began with a dream. Today I am living two of my dreams, graduating college, and believe it or not, speaking at commencement.”
After all the graduates received their degrees, Dr. Blattner rose to the podium and spoke of the loss last November of fellow classmate Sara E. Osterkorn. The college president explained that she and Sister Kathleen Tuite, Vice President of Student Life, were able to present Sara with her college degree just days before she died. Dr. Blattner asked the audience to stand as she presented Sara’s parents with their daughter’s Bachelor of Science degree Honoris Causa.
