In a major milestone for Saint Peter’s University, seven students in the education and nursing programs received the first doctoral degrees in the University’s 142-year history. Four students, Joseph John Cirillo ’14, Julie Beth Glazer ’14 and brother and sister Hansel Antonio Perez-Valderrama ’97, ’01, ’14 and Gretel T. Perez-Valderrama ’00, ’14, received the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in educational leadership while three students, Veronica Betts ’06, ’14, Ralmetha Brooks ’14 and Louise G. Kertesz ’14, received a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).
The post-master’s programs, which began in fall 2010, were developed to be consistent with the University’s core value to prepare students for leadership in response to societal, technological and environmental change, as well as to develop ethical leaders to engage in lifelong learning to best serve their communities and career fields.
“It was a completely different experience from my undergraduate and graduate years,” said Hansel, who previously received a Bachelor of Science in accounting and secondary education and a Master of Business Administration in management information systems at Saint Peter’s University.
Hansel, who is employed as a high school teacher, added, “I am grateful to Saint Peter’s for this opportunity. I met many wonderful people in my classes that shared a wealth of knowledge. A friendship has blossomed with many of us from this experience.”
Coursework for the Ed.D. program is taught by faculty in the School of Education. The Ed.D. is a discipline-based doctorate that prepares the student for academic, administrative, clinical or research positions in education.
“The part of the doctoral program where I learned so much was during the dissertation because my mentor, Professor of the College of Arts and Sciences Dr. William Gutsch, provided so much insight and guidance on how I can contribute to the educational world through study and present that study to other educators as an educational leader,” said Gretel.
Gretel, who previously received a Bachelor of Science from Saint Peter’s in biology and French, a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Rutgers University and a Master of Arts in educational administration and supervision from Saint Peter’s, pursued her Ed.D. at the University for the Jesuit education and diversity of the campus population. “It was an opportunity to be in a class full of individuals with different roles and backgrounds from whom I could learn,” she said. “It also provided me the chance to work with my brother and achieve this degree together.”
Gretel currently works as a data coordinator and academic interventionist in the Newark Public Schools, and hopes her Ed.D. will afford an opportunity to one day take on a leadership role as either a vice principal or supervisor.
In accordance with the University’s Jesuit mission, the Ed.D. program also aims to deliver value-based education with academic rigor to produce ethical leaders who promote success in institutions of higher education, facilitate the success of diverse student learners, possess a dedication to serving their community, and apply research to problems and issues in the field of higher education.
Glazer, who previously received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and a certificate of public affairs/public administration from Indiana University, a Master of Fine Arts in Film/Video from Columbia College in Illinois and a Master of Arts in Education from DePaul University, said receiving an Ed.D. from Saint Peter’s was a “continuation of my commitment to professional learning as a transformative tool. I remain passionate about daily job-embedded professional learning as a mechanism for teacher and leader, classroom, school and district change.”
Glazer, who is the assistant superintendent of the Summit, N.J., public school system, added, “My very first class with Associate Professor of Education Dr. Jennifer Ayala was ‘Research for Administrators.’ She set the tone for the remainder of my program. I was very fortunate with small classes to be able to study in-depth and get to know professors and to meet the people who would become my mentors. Their support and willingness to go above and beyond what might be expected was integral to my being able to graduate in the first cohort.”
The DNP is offered within the School of Nursing. It is the highest degree for nurses engaged in advanced practice and those who wish to impact the quality and standards of care for those in need of or receiving services from the health care system. Based on the guidelines from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and other advanced practice regulatory organizations, the curriculum prepares graduates whom will have an impact on patient care via health policy development, economics, cost containment strategies and practice-based on evidence rather than convenience.
“Having received two degrees already from Saint Peter’s, I was very pleased with the quality of the education I received and felt the programs were always tailored to adult learners,” said Betts as to why she pursued her doctorate in nursing at the University. She obtained her associate degree in applied science in nursing from Felician College and then went on to receive a bachelor’s and master’s in nursing from Saint Peter’s. “The professors were always available to the students and willing to offer assistance throughout the program, highly experienced in their field and provided valuable insight and information to the subject matter for each course.”
In addition to these two doctorate programs, Saint Peter’s offers eight graduate degree programs in a number of fields, including data science, business administration, accountancy, strategic communication, public administration, criminal justice, education and nursing with each offering a wide range of concentrations. The University’s undergraduate curriculum has grown to offer more than 50 programs in such areas as the arts, sciences, business, nursing and education, as well.
To learn more about the Doctor of Education program at Saint Peter’s University, please visit saintpeters.edu/school-of-education/curriculum/graduate-programs/doctor-of-education-ed-d. For more information on the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, please visit www.saintpeters.edu/school-of-nursing/curriculum/graduate-programs.