Nancy H. Blattner, Ph.D. was inaugurated Saturday November 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, friends and family, 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.

On Friday November 6, The Most Reverend John J. Myers, J.C.D., D.D., Archbishop of Newark, presided and preached at the Mass to celebrate the Inauguration.

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 were 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."

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

back to top ^

Essex County, NJ – October 22, 2009 - Mountainside Hospital (Montclair) and Caldwell College (Caldwell) announced a partnership agreement to create a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program. Finalization of the partnership is subject to approval of the National League of Nursing and the NJ Board of Nursing. Following regulatory approval, applications for the new undergraduate program will be accepted for the fall 2010 entering class. Under the partnership, Caldwell College will offer a nursing degree for the first time in its history. The Mountainside School of Nursing will transition its diploma program into the degree partnership and be renamed the Mountainside Hospital Center for Nursing Practice.

Caldwell College will provide admissions, student services and non-nursing degree requirements. Mountainside’s faculty will teach courses in the theory and practice of nursing and clinical work will be performed at the hospital.

"Throughout its 117-year history, our nursing school has distinguished itself as a premier educational institution and generations of our graduates have achieved success. This new partnership is consistent with our longstanding practice of proactively responding to emerging trends in the field of nursing," said John A. Fromhold, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mountainside Hospital. "With evidence that BSN care improves patient outcomes and government initiatives that would make an undergraduate degree an expected educational standard for nurses under consideration, this partnership will provide incoming students with superior credentials upon graduation. This proposed BSN program will provide an educational platform that prepares newcomers for the rigors of nursing in an increasingly challenging healthcare industry by emphasizing core communication, organizational and analytical capabilities in addition to exceptional clinical and technical expertise."

"Caldwell College is delighted to be able to partner with Mountainside Hospital to offer the BSN degree. The hospital’s School of Nursing has a long history of offering a quality diploma program and we welcome the opportunity to work with the staff at Mountainside Hospital to further develop its nursing education program by moving to the BSN degree," said Paul Douillard, Ph.D. Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs at Caldwell College. "We are fortunate to have on Caldwell’s faculty Dr. Sook Choi, a doctorally prepared nurse, who has agreed to work with Mountainside Hospital to develop the program and who will serve as the first Director of the Caldwell College Nursing Program."

Freshmen who are currently enrolled at the Mountainside Nursing School will be the last to graduate with nursing diplomas upon completion of their scheduled two-year program in May of 2011. "While this marks the start of a new era in the history of our school, it also ensures that Mountainside’s tradition and reputation as an institution that prepares caring individuals for pivotal nursing roles will endure," Fromhold said. "We are very excited about this proposed partnership. We look forward to working with our colleagues at Caldwell College to build one of the leading undergraduate nursing programs in our region."

Founded in 1939 by the sisters of Saint Dominic, Caldwell College is a Catholic, co-ed, four year liberal arts institution, offering 28 undergraduate degrees, 20 graduate programs and one doctoral program. The college is located on a beautiful 70-acre campus in suburban Caldwell, NJ. Caldwell College provides students with a supportive community, a student/faculty ratio of 13 to 1, excellence in teaching, and innovative learning environments. For further information about Caldwell College, visit www.caldwell.edu.

At Mountainside Hospital, world-class physicians treat a wide range of medical conditions using cutting-edge technologies. Patients have immediate access to innovative and effective treatment alternatives at specialized centers within the hospital that focus on women’s health, cancer care, weight loss, outpatient diagnostics, dialysis, and other needs. Mountainside Hospital has been serving community health needs since 1891. Today, the 365-bed private hospital delivers personalized care while also functioning as a learning center via its nursing school and residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine and dentistry. For more information about Mountainside Hospital, visit www.mountainsidenow.com.

back to top ^

CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College women's basketball team has been selected to play in a nationally televised game against Bloomfield College on Saturday, Feb. 27 in the George R. Newman Center. The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) game is one of eight NCAA Division II regular-season men's and women's basketball games to be televised on CBS College Sports Network this season. It also marks the first time that a contest involving a Caldwell College athletic program will be on national television.

"This is such a great opportunity for our players to play a big conference game on national television," said Linda Cimino, head women's basketball coach and Assistant Director of Athletics at Caldwell. "Bloomfield is probably our biggest rival, and we've had some exciting games the past few years. This game will provide exposure to our program and to the type of basketball we play in the CACC, and we're certainly looking forward to it."

This is the fourth year of the television agreement between Division II and CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV).

"Our partnership with CBS College Sports is another example of why our schools consider Division II as a membership destination," said Division II Vice President Mike Racy. "We are able to provide national exposure for the student-athletes and their institutions while also providing viewers a unique glimpse into the division and the way we balance academic and athletics excellence."

Previous CACC institutions that have played televised games as a part of the agreement include Philadelphia's men's team in 2007 and 2009, Holy Family's men's team in 2009 and the women's teams from Holy Family and Georgian Court in 2008.

"We are excited to be hosting this landmark game for our conference and for the Caldwell College community," said Mark A. Corino, head men's basketball coach and the Executive Director of Athletics at Caldwell. "Not only is it a great opportunity for our student-athletes, but the game gives the whole campus a chance to come together and put our best foot forward to showcase all that Caldwell College has to offer."

Caldwell also will serve as host of the semifinals and finals of the CACC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, held Mar. 5-6 in the Newman Center. The Cougars return eight players from last year's team that went 10-18 and finished third in the CACC North Division. Junior guard Kirsty Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Acad.) averaged a team-high 16.6 points per game last year en route to earning all-CACC third team honors.

back to top ^

Life changed dramatically sophomore year for Caldwell College student Christine Dabrowski. She went from having two jobs to just one job, from not having enough time to study to seeing her grades improve rapidly, and from never seeing friends to being able to "have a youth and see friends once in a while." She largely credits the transformation to the financial support of a very special Caldwell College Scholarship fund donor by the name of Josephine "Jo" Mastandrea.

Christine said the support Jo has given has helped her "beyond words." At one point Christine's family faced devastating financial challenges, and their home was even damaged in a flood. Christine was working so hard and so many hours that she would even find herself falling asleep in class. A resident of Wayne, New Jersey and a recipient of TAG and PELL Grants, Christine found that those grants simply did not cover enough of the finances she and her family needed. It was Jo's support that gave her the extra help. Those donations also allowed Christine, who is a biology major, to take on extra classes for a minor in business. She hopes to be able to pursue a master's in business administration, and she is considering pursuing work with a biological company.

For Jo, who is an alumna with an undergraduate degree in Science, donating to Caldwell College in this manner has been a very fulfilling experience. "Christine is a committed young lady," Jo said. She "is the very essence of why Caldwell was formed by Dominican sisters." Jo says she used to give to "big charities," but she found she did not know where her money was going. Now, she would rather give an education to a student and in turn have that student "pass it on." For Christine, the extra help has enabled her to be more involved in on-campus activities. She is a member of the Biological organization Tri-Beta and President of the Women in Business Organization. It still takes a lot of schedule management, but it is all completely worth it because she loves Caldwell College. "I am the first generation in my family to go to college. My parents came to the U.S in their 20's from Poland," she said.

Caldwell College, she says, "is the best school," and "the teachers are fabulous and the students are wonderful." She has a nice relationship with her donor and in addition to calling her on the telephone Jo receives some other benefits. "I send my prayers out to her all the time," says Christine. "She is just like my guardian angel."

back to top ^