Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s University, accepting the 2018 ACE/Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation at ACE2018.
Jersey City, N.J. – March 11, 2018 – Saint Peter’s University today announced that it is was named first among institutions across the nation as the recipient of the 2018 ACE/Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation. The award was created by the American Council on Education (ACE) to recognize institutions that have responded to higher education challenges in innovative and creative ways and achieved dramatic changes in a relatively brief period. Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s University, accepted the award at ACE2018, ACE’s 100th Annual Meeting on March 11 in Washington, D.C.
“This honor acknowledges Saint Peter’s dedication to transforming the lives of its students as well as the University’s unwavering commitment to transforming and improving the institution as a whole,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s University. “We take great pride in the outcomes of our efforts and that these results have been recognized by our peers on a national stage.”
In March of 2012, the State of New Jersey approved the petition from Saint Peter’s College to be designated as a university, with a corresponding name change to Saint Peter’s University. With that successful bid, Saint Peter’s set about addressing challenges and opportunities to expand its mission, grow enrollment, enhance student support, improve outcomes, strengthen finances and build campus pride. The University adopted a mission-focused, student-centric strategic planning process that emphasized academic innovation, fiscal stability, and enrollment strategies through leadership, open communication and human resource investment.
From left, Kara Lee, vice president of administration and chief information officer at ACE; Sherri Hughes, associate vice president of ACE Leadership; Bruce White, vice president and managing director of Fidelity Investments; Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s University; and Ted Mitchell, president of ACE.
The dramatic results of these efforts included enrollment growth of 20 percent over the last five years; expanded academic programs in cutting-edge fields; increased partnerships to promote real world learning; strengthened career support that has resulted in more than 91 percent of the Class of 2017 securing a job or enrolling in post-graduate study within six months of graduation; improved state-of-the-art facilities such as the Mac Mahon Student Center and the new School of Business; and a commitment to a strong return on investment.
The ACE/Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation is awarded annually in two categories: institutions with more than 5,000 students and institutions with up to 5,000 students. In addition to Saint Peter’s, the 2018 award was also given to Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, N.J.) in the category of institutions with more than 5,000 students.
For more information about the award, please visit saintpeters.edu/transform.
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Saint Peter’s University, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment. To learn more, please visit www.saintpeters.edu.
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