Caldwell College Inaugurates New President

Delegates from Universities and Colleges across the U.S. Attend Installation Ceremony

Nancy H. Blattner, Ph.D. was inaugurated Saturday Nov. 7 as Caldwell College's 8th President. Blattner, who is the first lay president in the College's 70-year history, welcomed delegates from colleges and universities, political and community leaders, Caldwell College Administration, faculty, staff, students, alumni and the Sisters of St. Dominic, the order that founded Caldwell College. Over 500 people attended the ceremony, which was themed In Celebration of Community.

Dr. Alexander Giaquinto, Chair of the Caldwell College Board of Trustees, presented the chain and the medallion to Dr. Blattner as a symbol of the Office of the President, and he formally conferred the investiture. The Most Reverend Thomas A. Donato, D.D., Auxiliary Bishop of Newark presented the invocation. Sister Patrice Werner, O.P., Ph.D., Caldwell College's 7th president, presented Dr. Blattner the mace, which is the symbol of the president's authority.

The Most Reverend John J. Myers, J.C.D., D.D., Archbishop of Newark, presided and preached at the Mass to celebrate the Inauguration on Fri. Nov. 6.

In her remarks, Blattner highlighted the "special spirit" that pervaded Caldwell's campus in its very early days, as written about in a short history book about the College on its 50th anniversary in 1989. Blattner noted how that special spirit and "that atmosphere of community, which encompassed the entirety of Caldwell College then, is still alive today" on Caldwell's campus-in classrooms, at school events, on athletic fields and in residence halls. As one of the four pillars of Dominican life, community-along with prayer, study and ministry-is a focus of all that we do and who we are at Caldwell", Blattner said. Community was emphasized as a living entity, vibrant and alive. "Each one of us is called to be part of this community that values interconnectedness, that builds relationships, that sees 'the other' as part of oneself, the self that reflects the life of the divine."

Blattner added, "Never forgetting that our college's mission is one of academic excellence, we nonetheless realize that in order to achieve the goal of community, the entire individual must be cultivated: intellectually, aesthetically and spiritually, as expressed in our mission statement."

She pointed to examples of how Caldwell College as a community celebrates together, learns together, engages in service and volunteerism projects together, and comes together in times of sadness and loss. One such loss was when Caldwell College staff member, Mary Ladany, lost her daughter this past summer and wrote to Blattner about the outpouring of support on the occasion of her daughter's untimely death. Ladany wrote, "It is my hope, that the Caldwell College Community can see itself for what it truly is: a community fully formed in faith, capable of generous acts of compassion and not afraid of the work that still needs to be done." According to Blattner, "This communication reminded all of us that membership in community calls us to be present to others, to be faithful and faith-filled, while not allowing us to settle for what has been accomplished, but to strive for and to be more. This is a challenge worth our response as we look toward the future."

Among the many community leaders who provided greetings was Susan Gartland, mayor of the borough of Caldwell; J.B. Wilson, President of Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey; and The Most. Reverend Thomas A. Donato, D.D. from the Archdiocese of Newark.

Professor of English Maxine Susman, Ph.D. presented a poem she wrote for Inauguration entitled Caldwell - a Welcome, a Calling. Click here to read the poem.

Music was provided by the Caldwell College Choir & Brass Ensemble and the Caldwell College Wind Ensemble.

The Installation was one of several activities held on campus to celebrate Blattner's Inauguration. Earlier in the week, Blattner and students, staff and faculty delivered food to and volunteered at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. At a lecture, Msgr. Richard M. Liddy, Director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University, presented on The Catholic Intellectual Tradition: Where is it today. A Caldwell College faculty panel provided responses. That panel included: Paul Douillard, Ph.D., Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs; Professor Robert Mann, Communication Arts Department; Mary Ann Miller, Ph.D, English Department and Angela Scimone, Ph.D, Chemistry Department.