A new era began at the College of Saint Elizabeth today as the first coeducational undergraduate class was welcomed into the 116-year-old institution.

The historic class of 2020 has the highest undergraduate enrollment in the College in more than five years and includes freshmen from across New Jersey, towns in California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas as well as emigrants from countries such as Germany and Syria.

Of the 169 first-time freshmen, approximately 40 percent are young men, half of whom are committed to playing either basketball or soccer for the College this fall.

“There is certainly an air of excitement, vitality and optimism on campus as we welcome the class of 2020,” said Dr. Helen J. Streubert, president. “This historic class includes talented young men and women from across New Jersey and parts of the world who may otherwise have limited access to a higher education. We are proud to open our doors to these students who are seeking an education that is aligned with the principles of our founders, the Sisters of Charity.”

For more stories about Saint Elizabeth, scroll down:

The Provident Bank Foundation Awards 2016 $100K Signature Grant To CSE
CSE Wins NEAC Faculty Athletic Representative’s Cup

Students are looking forward to the start of the semester.

“CSE is all about diversity so we welcome the men to our campus,” said Destiny Bacy, ’19, health administration, from Tinton Falls. “Being coed just adds to the diversity we already have.”

Young men who are part of the historic first class are optimistic as well.

“I want to be part of history by being on the first men’s soccer team at CSE,” said Lidio Bicaku, a criminal justice major from Chatham. “I love the campus and can’t wait to start.”

Teammate Fernando Zuniga, a freshman from Dallas, Texas, agrees. “It looks like we are going to have a great team,” he said.

The College has offered coeducational continuing studies and graduate classes on campus since the 1970s. The decision to open the traditional undergraduate programs to men was made in June 2015 by the College’s Board of Trustees.

In announcing that decision, Sister Rosemary Moynihan, chair of the trustees said, “Going coeducational embraces our past while expanding our reach. It will enable us to maintain our commitment to the Sisters of Charity, whose mission is to serve where there is need. In 1899, that need was for the education of young women. Today, the need is to produce male and female servant leaders who are committed to making the world a better place.”

Since June 2015, the College has strategically and carefully planned for the class of 2020 and beyond. More than $5 million has been invested in science lab upgrades; a $1.2 million renovation to the dining hall is underway; restrooms in residence halls and locker rooms in the gymnasium have been renovated, and new programs in health administration, broadcasting, actuarial science and social work are being introduced.

The College also initiated CSE Promise, a program that guarantees first-time freshmen who fulfill all requirements of the program a paid internship if they do not find a job or gain acceptance into a graduate program within six months of graduation.

The Provident Bank Foundation Awards 2016 $100K Signature Grant To CSE

On September 7, 2016, College President Helen J. Streubert was presented with the $100,000 “Signature” Grant in Education by The Provident Bank Foundation. Representing The Foundation were Jane Kurek, Executive Director; Chris Martin, President of PBF and President & CEO of Provident Bank; Robert Rupel, a member of The Foundation’s board of trustees; and Greg Dittrich, SVP/Regional Manager of Provident Bank. Theresa Corso, director of the Experiential Learning Center (ELC), and students Christopher Richardson, ’20, a religious studies major, and Hayley Holzhacker, ’18, a business major, also were on hand to thank The Foundation for their generosity.

CSE was selected to receive the Signature Grant for use toward enhancements of their ELC, which is designed to provide students a central resource to integrate academic learning with real-world experience.

“The Foundation’s efforts in education support innovative programming like CSE’s that expand access to and improve the quality of well-rounded educational experiences for people of all ages,” says Kurek. “CSE affirms its commitment in service to the community, and is dedicated to the values of integrity, social responsibility, leadership, and excellence in teaching and learning.”

Enhancements required to strengthen the ELC include:

• The development of a formalized mentoring program to link each student with a community or alumni professional for guidance and support.
• Additional ELC staff member to assure efficient and effective services to students and community partners.
• The collection and assessment of student and mentor/partner activities through the acquisition and utilization of campus labs, as well as integrated software/cloud-based assessment tools specifically designed for higher education.

“The Provident Bank Foundation shares our values of a well-rounded education for our students,” says Dr. Helen J. Streubert, president of the College of Saint Elizabeth. “Classroom learning coupled with experiences in the field as volunteers and interns enriches our students and gives them personal and academic experiences that will help them to excel in their chosen careers upon graduation as well as contributing members of society.”

CSE Wins NEAC Faculty Athletic Representative’s Cup

The College of Saint Elizabeth’s student-athletes placed first overall in the North Eastern Athletic Conference Faculty Athletic Representative’s Cup for academic success, which was announced on Thursday.

The FAR’s Cup takes two rankings into account: 1) an institution’s two-semester grade point average for all its student-athletes that competed in NEAC-sponsored sports during 2015-16; and 2) the percentage of 2015-16 NEAC Scholar-Athletes within the school’s total number of student-athletes. These two rankings were then added together for a total score, with the lower the total, the better the overall ranking.

CSE’s student-athletes finished the 2015-16 year with a 3.28 overall GPA and a scholar-athlete percentage of .508, good enough for first place in both categories. The Eagles had 31 student-athletes named NEAC Scholar-Athletes in July. Wells College finished in second place, four points behind CSE, while Lancaster Bible College and Penn State Berks finished tied for third place, eight points behind the Eagles.

Director of Athletics, Juliene Simpson, is thrilled with the accomplishment of the student-athletes. “This is truly a testimony to our CSE Mission, ‘Scholarship and Critical Inquiry.’ Our student-athletes, coaches, faculty and our Academic Success Center are to be commended on their commitment to excel in the classroom. Our senior class set a goal their freshmen year to be the best and receive recognition for the College for the highest GPA in the NEAC. Our entire campus community is proud of their hard work, dedication and amazing accomplishment.”

CSE’s first-place finish comes after a second-place finish the previous year. In 2014-15, CSE finished with the highest overall GPA at 3.302, but finished fourth place in the scholar-athlete rankings with a .3673 percentage.

Many of CSE’s student-athletes were excited when they found out they won the award for top GPA. “It’s a great achievement for the student-athletes. It feels great being recognized and winning this amazing award because it really shows all our time and hard work is paying off,” said tennis player and Vice President of SAAC, Brandi Garriques.

Senior Shervonne Gittens saw the success both on and off the field. “I’m proud of us as student-athletes that we were able to achieve not only success in athletics, but also success in the classroom.”

Lacrosse senior Amanda Inacio is proud of the improvement as an athletic department over her four years. “It’s truly an amazing accomplishment. I know all the scholar-athletes, along with myself, worked very hard for this and it feels great that we succeeded.”

Junior soccer and lacrosse player, Maria Trujillo, also expressed her excitement of winning the award. “It’s a really big accomplishment as a student-athlete and for the College of Saint Elizabeth. It feels great that our hard work pays off and gets recognized.”

CSE also placed second in the Direct Report’s Cup for sportsmanship. For the Direct Report’s Cup, each conference coach voted on the level of sportsmanship that was exhibited throughout the season. CSE finished with a 27.667 average, eight points behind the winner, Lancaster Bible College. The Eagles second-place finish is a big improvement from last year, when they finished in tenth place.

Simpson is proud of the way the student-athletes represented the college both on and off the playing field this season. “Last year when our student-athletes, coaches and athletic staff saw we were tenth in the NEAC for sportsmanship, there was great disappointment. Together, goals were set as a department and on each team to improve sportsmanship in all areas which individuals were directly involved, as well as our fans. It is remarkable to go from tenth to second in just one year. This year we will want to continue to enjoy the competitions and the love of the game as it was meant to be.”