Notre Dame College (Staten Island)

Last updated

Notre Dame College was a small Catholic women's college located in the Grymes Hill area of Staten Island, New York. It opened in 1933 as an affiliate of Fordham University and merged with St. John's University in 1971. [1]

Contents

Notre Dame was located on the former estate of Herbert Gans. The site was originally purchased in the early 20th century by immigrant John Gans. He chose the Grymes Hill location for his family estate because it overlooked New York Harbor where he operated a steamship company. The main house of the estate, a 30-room Georgian mansion, was completed in 1915 and became home to son Herbert Gans and his family.

Notre Dame College opened with 13 students and graduated its first class in 1935. [2] The alumnae association now has about 1,600 active members.

After the closure of Notre Dame College its campus became the Grymes Hill campus of St. John's. [3] Due to declining enrollment, University announced that it would close the Staten Island campus in the spring of 2024. [4] [5]

Founding

In the early 1930s, Herbert Gans and his wife befriended Mother Saint Egbert, later known as Sister Helen Flynn, a Sister of the Congregation of Notre Dame. She had just been named the director of the newly established Staten Island extension of Fordham University which was housed at Notre Dame Academy (Staten Island), a private school down the road from the Gans estate. When the small college of 13 students received its own charter in 1933, the Gans family sold the family mansion to the new Notre Dame College, which became a Catholic undergraduate college for women. The home, renamed Flynn Hall after the college foundress, opened in 1934 and graduated its first class in 1935. [6]

In 1937, Lavelle Hall, an academic building, was added and named in honor of Monsignor Lavelle, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York. A science building followed in 1945 named Mahoney Hall, after its principal benefactor.

In 1955, the college doubled its property with the purchase of the Herbert Gans estate, which included several properties, the largest of which served as the college library. It was named Spellman Hall after Francis Spellman, then cardinal archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, who contributed toward its reconstruction. The final purchase, an English Tudor home at the far end of the campus, was made in 1965. The Drury family, who had purchased the house from Hans Gans in 1945, sold the house and surrounding property to Notre Dame College. It was renamed Rosati Hall in honor of Bishop Joseph Rosati, C.M. 1789–1843.

Consolidation

Notre Dame College served the community as a premier women's college for over 30 years. During the late 1960s, when it became difficult for small colleges to survive, Terence Cooke, then Cardinal Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, asked the Vincentian Fathers of St. John's University, to integrate Notre Dame College, in order that Catholic higher education remain a vibrant presence in the Staten Island community and its environs.

On January 27, 1971, the New York State Board of Regents approved the consolidation and the Staten Island Campus of St. John's University became a reality. Classes began in the fall of 1971, combining the original Notre Dame College with the Brooklyn campus of St. John's, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, business and education. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's University (New York City)</span> Catholic university in New York City, New York, U.S.

St. John's University is a private Catholic university in Queens, New York City. It was founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission with a mission to provide the youth of New York with a Catholic university education. Originally located in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, the flagship campus was moved to its current location in the Queens borough during the 1950s. St. John's has an additional New York City campus in Manhattan. The university’s Staten Island campus closed in May of 2024. Additionally, the university has international campuses located in Rome, Italy, Paris, France, and Limerick, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattanville University</span> Private university in Purchase, New York, U.S.

Manhattanville University is a private university in Purchase, New York, United States. Founded in 1841 as a school at 412 Houston Street in Lower Manhattan, it was initially known as the Academy of the Sacred Heart. In 1917, the academy received a charter from the Regents of the State of New York to raise the school officially to a collegiate level, granting degrees as the College of the Sacred Heart. In 1937, it became known as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, and from 1966 to 2024 as Manhattanville College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Francis O'Hara</span> American prelate

John Francis O'Hara was an American member of the Congregation of Holy Cross and prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as president of the University of Notre Dame (1934–1939) and as the Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1951 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount St. Mary's University</span> Catholic liberal arts university in Emmitsburg, Maryland, U.S.

Mount St. Mary's University is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It has the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. Undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts, the Richard J. Bolte School of Business, and the School of Natural Science and Mathematics. "The Mount" has over 40 undergraduate majors, minors, concentrations, and special programs, as well as bachelor's/master's combinations in partnership with other universities, 8 master's programs, and 6 postgraduate certificate programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maginnis & Walsh</span>

Maginnis & Walsh was a Boston-based architecture firm started by Charles Donagh Maginnis and Timothy Francis Walsh in 1905. It was known for its innovative design of churches in Boston in the first half of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wagner College</span> Private college in Staten Island, New York

Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. It was founded in 1883 and has an enrollment of 1,947 students as of 2023. Wagner has an academic program known as The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Notre Dame of Maryland University</span> Private university in Baltimore, Maryland, US

Notre Dame of Maryland University is a private Catholic university in Baltimore, Maryland. NDMU offers certificate, undergraduate, and graduate programs for women and men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleasant Plains, Staten Island</span>

Pleasant Plains is a neighborhood located on Staten Island, New York City, New York. It is bordered by Woodrow to the north, the Lower New York Bay to the south, Richmond Valley to the west, and Prince's Bay to the east. The neighborhood is represented in the New York City Council by Joe Borelli.

Grymes Hill is a 374 feet (114 m) tall hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the second highest natural point on the island and in the five boroughs of New York City. The neighborhood of the same name encompasses an area of 0.894 square miles (2.32 km2) and has a population of 8,263 people. The hill also includes parts of the Silver Lake neighborhood. The area includes part of ZIP Codes 10301 and 10304.

Walter Philip Kellenberg was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Long Island, New York, from 1957 to 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Saint Agnes College</span> Catholic womens college in Baltimore, Maryland US

Mount Saint Agnes College was a Catholic women's college located in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It opened in 1890 and was operated by the Sisters of Mercy. In 1971, Mount Saint Agnes merged with nearby Loyola College in Maryland, which still oversees the Mount Saint Agnes Alumnae Association. The college closed as its own degree-granting institution in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Joseph Hill Academy</span> Private school in Staten Island, New York, United States

St. Joseph Hill Academy is an American private Pre-K 3 through 12th grade Catholic school, located in the Arrochar neighborhood of Staten Island, New York.

Alumni Hall may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosati-Kain High School</span> Catholic school in St. Louis, Missouri, US

Rosati-Kain High School is an all-girls Catholic high school in St. Louis, Missouri. Rosati-Kain is accredited as a college preparatory school by the North Central Association, the Missouri Department of Education, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy of Notre Dame de Namur</span> Private, all-female school in Radnor, , Pennsylvania, United States

The Academy of Notre Dame de Namur is a private middle school and high school for girls in Radnor, Pennsylvania. It is located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia; however, Notre Dame is an independent school. Notre Dame's mission is "to educate young women for responsible living in a global society with an extensive co-curricular and athletic program."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Notre Dame Academy (Staten Island)</span> Private, girls school in Staten Island, New York, United States

Notre Dame Academy is an American private Catholic girls' school in Staten Island, New York.

Patrick Vincent Ahern was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1970 to 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Our Lady of Pity (Staten Island)</span>

The Church of Our Lady of Pity is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located in Staten Island, New York City. The church is located at 1616 Richmond Avenue, just south of the Staten Island Expressway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augustinian Academy (Staten Island)</span>

The Augustinian Academy on Staten Island, New York, was founded on May 30, 1899, in conjunction with the new Roman Catholic parish of Our Lady of Good Counsel, both by the Augustinian Friars. The academy expanded in 1926 and closed in 1969; during its life it added about 250 priests to the Augustinian order.

References

  1. ↑ "St. John's University - Alumni and Friends - Community - Constituency List - Notre Dame College Alumnae Association". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  2. ↑ "St. John's University - Campus Life - Staten Island - Our History". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  3. ↑ Jones-Gorman, Jessica (13 April 2024). "St. John's prepares to close Staten Island campus: Here's what we know so far about future of the property". SILive.com. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  4. ↑ Bascome, Erik (August 12, 2022). "St. John's University to close Staten Island campus in spring 2024". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  5. ↑ Shanley, Brian J. (August 12, 2022). "The Staten Island Campus". St. John's University. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  6. ↑ Matteo, Thomas (5 April 2012). "Staten Island's Notre Dame College stood tall on the hill". LIlive.com. Staten Island, New York: Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  7. ↑ "Our History". Archived from the original on 2010-06-22. Retrieved 2015-08-25. Staten Island Campus History

40°37′16″N74°5′27″W / 40.62111°N 74.09083°W / 40.62111; -74.09083

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.