Jersey City, N.J. – Saint Peter’s College celebrated the opening of The Guarini Center for Community Memory, located on the ground floor of the Theresa and Edward O’Toole Library, with a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday. The Center is funded by Congressman Frank J. Guarini H ’94 and houses his archives as well as print and digital historical collections of importance to Saint Peter’s College and the community. The Center further supports the mission of the Guarini Institute for Government and Leadership to encourage students to pursue careers that serve the common good.
“I am very proud of the efforts of the Guarini Institute and the Center for Community Memory which would not be possible without the generosity and friendship of Congressman Frank Guarini,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s College. “Frank’s support enables Saint Peter’s to provide unique opportunities for our students and community.”
The new space will serve as a premier research facility in the areas of history, local history, politics, political science, government, theology and religion. The Center will house the local history of Hudson County, materials from Congressman Guarini’s days in Congress, the College’s archives as well as the Library’s rare books and special collections. Additionally, the space will be open to the public, providing fee-based research services and opportunities for both the College and the community to host lecture series.
Guarini discussed his history in politics on both the local and national level and emphasized “we established the Guarini Institute for Government and Leadership and The Guarini Center for Community Memory to enable students to learn from my experiences. Students are the leaders of tomorrow and there is nothing more important than supporting young people who are interested in taking a part in public life.”
“This is an exciting time for scholarship and research here at Saint Peter’s College,” said David Orenstein, Ph.D., director of the Theresa and Edward O’Toole Library. “The Guarini Center for Community Memory opens a window of opportunities for those conducting research in disciplines that require rare materials to complete works of inquiry.”
Finally, with the Library’s archives and special collections scheduled to be housed in the new Center, additional space will now be available throughout the library. This will allow for the opening of a supplementary quiet group study room on the second floor of the building.
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Contact:
Angeline Boyer
(201) 761-6238
aboyer1@spc.edu