Final College Of New Rochelle Class Graduates

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The graduation ceremony for the College of New Rochelle's Class of 2019 May 21 was at the same time a celebration and a bittersweet occasion. It was the final commencement of the college and its final graduating class. The college is slated to shut its door after the summer semester.

New York City’s Riverside Church was the setting in which the graduates from the college's four schools marched in to the ceremony to the strains of "Pomp and Circumstance."

Board member Mary Sommer ’71 offered congratulations to the graduates on behalf of the Board of Trustees before introducing Dr. William Latimer, president of CNR.

Latimer spoke about the College’s legacy of educational access and how it affected those in the Class of 2019 and thousands of others who came before them, urging them to tell their children what CNR meant to them and how it changed their lives.

“As long as you remember that and tell those stories, CNR’s legacy will live on in you,” he said.

Ruth Hassell-Thompson, special advisor for police and community affairs to Governor Andrew Cuomo and former state senator, was the first of three individuals upon whom the college conferred honorary degrees during the ceremony. Hassell-Thompson received the Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, for being an advocate for civil rights and educational opportunity.

Also given honorary degrees were Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Catherine Alicia Georges, national volunteer president for AARP and chairperson, Department of Nursing at Lehman College, CUNY.

For the nearly 1,000 members of the Class of 2019, emotions ran the gamut from elation to tears.

Daisy Martinez, a long-time CNR staff member, graduated with her second CNR degree, a bachelor of science in nursing.

“CNR has been my second family for more than 18 years. Seeing everyone here today is beautiful. This is not just a graduation for us, it’s seeing off the College in the best way we can,” she said.

Calling it “a bittersweet moment,” Alejandro Vicenti who received a master's degree in public administration, said he experienced many good times and met so many people who helped him to advance his career.

"I hope the students here today will continue to grow and keep in touch with each other as the years go on,” he said.

CNR reached an agreement with Mercy College to give student still working on degree a way to transition to Mercy to continue their education. The arrangement will allow CNR students to automatically transfer to Mercy for the fall 2019 semester.

The College of New Rochelle found itself in a difficult financial situation in October 2016 and was days away from shutting its doors at times,.

Then-President Judith Huntington resigned, and "unmet financial obligations" were uncovered.

About $20 million in payroll taxes had not been paid for eight quarters, beginning in 2014.

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