Excellence in Art

Sister Gerardine Mueller, O.P. ‘54

Six stained glass windows she carried through the mountains of Ecuador and installed in the Puyo Cathedral… the chapel windows of the Extended Care Facility in Newark…the Caldwell College stained glass processional Cross…a fabric hanging and a mosaic for the Holy Cross Fathers at Notre Dame, Indiana… restoration of two panels at Yale University – these are but a few of the artistic endeavors of Sister Gerardine, O.P., Emeritus Professor of Art at Caldwell College.

Sculpture and design of the Chapel for All Saints Church, Jersey City.. the design and execution for the college mace for the Northeastern Bible College, formerly in Essex Fells.. mosaic panels representing the days of creation in the Caldwell Student Center.. the mural in the Justice and Peace Center.. the windows in the St. Teresa Mausoleum in Summit.. two commissions for glass tabernacles.. even the Veritas flame are gifts from Sister Gerardine.  The list of major pieces goes on and on for this internationally renowned artist.

Graduating in 1954 from Caldwell College, Sister Gerardine holds both MA and MFA degrees from Notre Dame University in art studies; certificates from the New Jersey State Department of Education; the Durham Glass Studios(New York); Fordham University; and the Cummings Glass Studio(North Adams, Massachusetts).  Sister Gerardine also studied pottery, archaeology and Pre-Columbian art history in Mexico.

Sister Gerardine’s most acclaimed academic contribution came as the founding chairman of the art department.  She initiated the Bachelor of Fine Arts and made Caldwell College the first New Jersey college or university to grant such a degree.  Caldwell College graduates, however, consider Sister’s academic contribution to be the esprit de corps of the learning environment and the holistic approach to art encouraged in the department.

In addition to her ongoing art projects, Sister is currently a member of the Newark Archdiocese Boards of Word on Worship and Heritage Advisement.  Listed in Who’s Who in American Art and Who’s Who of American Women, Sister Gerardine was cited by the North American Calligraphers and is an archaeologist who has conducted research in Mexico and Peru.

Her most recent works are the 32 windows above the Caldwell College Alumni Theater, the blue “Earth” panel at an entrance  of the Administration Building(and another for North Jersey Ridge and Valley Conservancy), two life-size sculptures in the Sisters’ main chapel, and lettering/illumination work(her primary love!) which appears on three CD covers now in the market.

Sister Gerardine was the first Dominican Sister to be honored with the Veritas Award.

Excellence in Finance

Deborah Streleck-Borenstein ‘74

Deborah Streleck-Borenstein was a senior executive in the New York Corporate Office of Bank of America.  As a Vice President, Debbie managed the Global Financial Institutions – Product Management in Latin America, Asia, and Europe.  In her 18 years of financial services experience, Debbie held positions in marketing, sales, international product management, operations, pricing, advertising and management in both domestic and international markets.  In developing products for global clients, Debbie traveled the world communicating effectively with people of different languages and cultures.

Debbie graduated from Caldwell College with a B.A. in Psychology.  She started her career at CitiBank, New York, in cash management. Two years later, she took a position as Assistant Treasurer for Fidelity Union Trust Company, now Wachovia Bank.  In 1978, she joined Bankers Trust Company, New York, as Assistant Vice President of Cash Management and, in 1981, moved to Bank of America as Vice President.

Debbie’s major accomplishments at Bank of America included: developing the business requirements for the One Bank Image Project, which integrated New York and San Francisco operations, forming a product management group, establishing pricing, and training customers and account officers around the world.

While Debbie gave up her banking career to raise her two sons, her energy and executive abilities were transferred to academic and charitable causes.  At Montclair Kimberley Academy, where her son Mark was a student, Debbie served on the Parents Board as Grade Representative, Vice President of Primary School Campus, and Development Committee Chair.  An upper school volunteer, she devoted her efforts to the development of a new arts wing. For the six years her son, Greg, was at DelBarton, Debbie held positions on the Mothers’ Guild Board, including: Class Mother, Treasurer and Nominating Chair.  She is now an involved member of Parents of DelBarton Graduates Association.

Debbie has held several offices for Llewellyn Park, New Jersey committees, including a term as President of the Ladies Association and Treasurer of the Committee of Managers.  She has also worked for the West Essex Health Community Services(now apart of Hospice) and the United Way Women in Support.

As a member of Caldwell College Board of Trustees for two terms, Debbie chaired the Development Committee.  She helped found the Golden Eagle Golf Tournament, assisted in the Theater/Library campaign, and was on Caldwell’s 60th Anniversary Concert Committee.

A graduate of Mount St. Dominic Academy, Debbie chaired the Mount’s Centennial Dinner, was a Career Day speaker and served on Hall of Fame Dinner Committees.

Excellence in Legal Management and Recruitment

Christine White ‘68

Managing the Recruitment Process, the groundbreaking book in 1982 on the new field of lawyer recruiting, was defined by the American Bar Association as the “definitive text of lawyer recruiting.”  The co-author is Christine Christine White, Caldwell College class of ‘68.

Chris’s path to the long career in her field started when she joined Villanova University School of Law to create its career services office in 1971.  Promoted quickly to Assistant Dean, she was one of the only six law school assistant deans nationwide without a law degree.

Chris’s career has been innovative as well as successful.  At Villanova, Chris was one of the founders of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), which today, is regarded as the preeminent association for professionals in the legal career planning and lawyer recruitment field.  NALP grew from its 35 original members to over 1700 members today from virtually all American Bar Association(ABA) approved law schools and major law firms, corporations, governmental entities, and other legal employers. She created many industry-wide standards including the “NALP Form,” uniform description for all major legal employers used when recruiting, designed NALP, a first national employment studies, which continue to this day to provide annual employment statistics on law school graduates.

In 1978, Chris was recruited to Steptoe & Johnson, then the second largest law firm in Washington, D.C., to become their first Director of Recruiting.  She later was promoted to Executive Director and was the only non-lawyer attending the firm’s executive meetings. Chris’s legal career has often achieved national recognition.  She has written more than 25 articles, which have been published in prestigious legal trade journals, such as the ABA Journal, Legal Times, and Professional Development Quarterly.  She has authored chapters for several ABA publications, including ‘Changing Jobs and Your New Lawyer.’ She has been a speaker for many legal trade association conferences, including: the ABA Practice Management Section,  Association of Legal Administrators, and the National Association for Law Placement.

In 1984, Chris started White Svikhart & Associates, the country’s first consulting practice in lawyer legal personnel.  The firm, based in Washington D.C., served more than 125 of the country’s leading law firms, several major corporations including DuPont and Coca Cola, and organizations such as the U.S Department of Justice and the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S Army.  The company’s reputation legitimized the new field and paved the way during the 1990s for other consulting businesses to serve the legal community. After 15 years in consulting, Ms. White joined the 650-attorney law firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart as the firm’s first Chief Officer for Professional Development and Recruitment, one of the first Chief Officers in attorney professional development.  She created innovation in mentoring, associate evaluation, and curriculum development.

In 1968, Chris was in Caldwell’s first class of Psychology Department graduates.  In 1970, she was the first graduate in Cornell University’s Master of Arts program in the new field of College Student Personnel Administration.

Residing in Arlington, Virginia and Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, Chris has one daughter  – Elizabeth Wiesner Paige.