Centennial Worth Celebrating
One-hundred years is a milestone worth celebrating. In 1921, Rosemont College of the Holy Child Jesus was established to meet the “wants of the age” by preparing young women to take their place in the wider fields of activity now open to them, while preserving Catholic ideals.
Incorporated in 1921, the College received its charter in 1922. It was and remains the only Holy Child institution of higher education, part of a worldwide network of institutions following the unique educational philosophy of Cornelia Connelly, centered around trust and reverence for the dignity of every human being.
As society evolved, the College, still dedicated to “meeting the wants of the age,” grew. Following World War II, students were more deliberately prepared for the opportunities and circumstances they were likely to encounter.
In the 60s, Rosemont focused on the development of the Christian person, accomplishing this through a liberal arts program that includes theology and philosophy. A deliberate emphasis on diversity also began during this time.
The 80s and 90s were all about growth and change. As Rosemont expanded, the College introduced continuing education and graduate programs for working adult women and men. Graduate degrees were first conferred in 1990. The Undergraduate College became coed in 2009. Online programs were added in 2010, another ongoing example of “meeting the wants of the age.”
Rosemont College’s influence over the past century has been amplified by the societal contributions of its more than 9,000 alumni who have “met the wants of the age” in turn as successful writers, business people, journalists, scientists, physicians, educators, philanthropists, and more.
Our Centennial is about celebrating their accomplishments as much as our own. And beyond celebrating the past, this year marks a kickoff for the next 100 years of a renewed focus to “meet the wants of the age,” no matter what those may be.
Our mission: Rosemont College is a community of learners dedicated to excellence and joy in the pursuit of knowledge. Rosemont College seeks to develop in all members of the community open and critical minds, as well as to make reasoned moral decisions.
"What one is called to do, one is called to do with all their might."
Inspiration from the Venerable Cornelia Connelly, Foundress of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus,
the Sponsoring Congregation of Rosemont College
Find Your Voice. Expand Your World. Transform Your Future.
Your potential is limitless. Join us to unlock it. At Rosemont, you'll have access to mentorship, rigorous academics, and a supportive community that will empower you to reach and achieve your short term and long term personal and professional ambitions. Take the first step toward finding your voice, by expanding your world at Rosemont and transform your future today! Per the merger agreement with Villanova University, Rosemont College is no longer admitting new students.
Centennial Committee
Co-Chairs: Pat Ciarrocchi ‘74 and Dianne Rotwitt ’98
Celebration Sub-Committee
Chairs: Veronica M. Ahern, Esq. ’68, Patricia Carbine ’52, and Victoria Nastri ‘92
Abigail Brooks ’22 (SGA Vice President)
Varsovia Fernandez ’98
Lauren K. Hunter Farrell ’04
Rasheda Gary ’04
Sharon L. Hirsh ‘70
Carroll Juliano, SHCJ
Ann Donovan Marshall ’66
Ben McGinty, Jr. ’00
Eileen O’Rourke McMonagle ’75
Ashley A. Montecchio Vero ’13
Catarina Moreira (Executive Director of Admissions)
Ann E. Myhr ’97, ’99 SGPS
Charles Roach
Carla Spataro ’07 (Academic Program Director, MFA)
Madonna Hazzouri Sutter ’76
Education Sub-Committee
Chairs: Sharon W. Clark ’74, Michael V. Cuomo ’13, Anne Durney Gannon ’74
Zelda Brafman ’01, ’04 SGPS
Dorothy Brown
Andrea Diane Graham ‘61
Margaret “Peg” Healy, PhD
Margaret “Peg” McGovern Isselmann ’64
Richard Leiby (Professor of History, UC)
Sandra Lincoln, SHCJ
Roseanne McDougall, SHCJ
Dorothy Kubiak Moran ’65
Suzanne Kelly Murphy ’77
Catherine Nakonetschny, MSW, ’97 ‘99
Delories Richardi ‘53
Elena Sisti (Reference and Archives Librarian)
Anna Warriner ’22 (Student in SGPS Counseling Program)
Service & Spiritual Sub-Committee
Chairs: Jeanne M. Hatch, SHCJ and Catherine B. Heckman ’01, ’11
Dwayne Dantzler ‘99
Margaret Doyle, SHCJ
Ann Marie Durst, SHCJ
Ofelia Garcia
Madden Levin ’22 (SGA President)
Clare Frances Mackie ’03
Helen McDevitt-Smith ’63
Marcia Sichol, SHCJ
Michael Willse (Assoc. Professor of Studio Art)
Jean Marrone Ebbott, ‘84
Francis X. Klose, Professor of Theology
Mary E. Manfredi, ‘18
Elizabeth McCluskey, ‘95
Patricia M. Nugent, MFA, Associate Professor of Studio Art, Director of Nugent Gallery
Letter from the Centennial Committee Chairs
Dear Rosemont College Community,
We want you to get ready for a milestone celebration that will make you proud to say, “I am Rosemont!”
The College is 100 years old. We believe a world-class Centennial Celebration is in order. So, put September 2021 on your radar, as we launch the 2021-2022 academic year of Centennial excitement, sure to inspire your eager engagement.
We have been inspired by the members of the Rosemont Centennial Committee, who have worked enthusiastically with each other, plus Rosemont employees, students, alums and friends. They all have offered their time and focused their talents to create a “stage” to reflect on Rosemont’s historic achievements and a “canvas” to envision a Rosemont of the future.
Written across a calendar of Centennial events will be exhibits, lectures, liturgical services and of course, social events to commemorate and celebrate this institution dedicated to the mission of imparting the “JOY of learning” to the students educated here. Standing at 100 years in Rosemont’s history also gives our community the opportunity to look ahead and recommit to Rosemont’s mission inspired by the Venerable Cornelia Connelly, the founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, “to meet the wants of the age.” That future with the intent to academically prepare women and men for “actions not words” is ripe for exploration.
As the Centennial Celebration events are fine tuned, this website — www.Rosemont.edu/Centennial — will be continually updated so you can plan your engagement with your friends and the College itself. Please visit this website often as we approach the launch of the Centennial.
We officially begin in September 2021, with our Month of Service – a month dedicated to a hands-on outreach of charity and philanthropy to share the Rosemont spirit with those in need. Together, we can build a bigger stage to share that Rosemont spirit while we stand proudly at this Centennial crossroads to a Rosemont future.
We look forward to seeing you at the Centennial events all year!
WE ALL ARE ROSEMONT! Let’s celebrate that TOGETHER!
Pat Ciarrocchi ’74 and Dianne Rotwitt ’98
Rosemont Centennial Committee Co-Chairs
Faith and Mission
Prayer for the Centennial of Rosemont College
Good and gracious God of all names,
We remember in this year of Jubilee the abundant gifts you have given to the Rosemont College Community since 1921.
We offer gratitude and praise in this Centennial year for these blessings:
• This College Community of Learners from the first seven brave students to the thousands of Alumni 100 years later
• From the founding Society of the Holy Child to the hundreds of lay educators, administrators, staff and trustees today
• The Mission of the College and the POWER of small which has enabled it to “meet the needs of the age”, raise consciousness and imagine the future
• From the legacy of service by those on whose shoulders we stand to carry the work forward.
We pray:
May our year-long celebration reflect our gratitude in actions and words. May our commitment to enliven the mission of the College inspire us to serve those most in need. May this year of Cornelia’s “abundant Jubilee of heart” impel our Rosemont College Community to create of our Centennial, as promised in Leviticus, “a holy thing.” Amen. Alleluia.
Special Masses and Liturgies
Closing Mass with Archbishop Nelson Perez
Sunday, June 5, 2022 at 10:30 a.m.
Please join us to close out our Centennial Year during our Reunion Weekend for our Closing Mass celebrated by His Excellency Nelson Perez, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Held during Reunion Weekend, this liturgy will serve as the final event of the Centennial Year. All are welcome to join the Reunion Classes for brunch in the Community Center immediately following Mass. So that we may appropriately plan, please register online for Mass.
Rosemont’s History Online
The Centennial Education Subcommittee was charged with the responsibility for initiatives that showcase Rosemont’s history and planning an academic forum that are accessible to all of Rosemont’s constituents, regardless of where they live. We proudly present to work of our team. The links below will take you on a journey through the first 100 years of Rosemont’s history.
• Alumni Reflections: Actions, Not Words
• Archives
• SHCJ Archive Project (The Founding Years)
• Society of the Holy Child Jesus History
• The Last Fifty Years-Through the Reflections of Six Presidents
Centennial Events
Follow the links for specific information about the events and how to register.
• Oktoberfest and Campus Celebration – October 23, 2021
• Exhibit: Concerning the Spiritual in Art – October 21, 2021 – December 23, 2021
• Christmas Eve Mass – December 24, 2021, 5 p.m.
• Pitching Into the Next Century: First Game of the New Ravens Baseball Team
• Looking Forward: Rosemont’s Next 100 Years, Date TBD
• Gala of the Century – April 30, 2022
• Mass with ArchBishop Nelson Perez – Sunday June 5, 2022
• Year-Long Events:
