The College of New Rochelle Graduates Class of 2000

    NEW ROCHELLE, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The 93rd annual graduation ceremony
 of The College of New Rochelle will take place May 25 at 12 noon on the Maura
 Lawn.
     "We have prepared our graduates to meet the challenges that lie ahead, and
 share their enthusiasm for the limitless possibilities before them," said
 Stephen J. Sweeny, Ph.D., president of The College of New Rochelle.  "Like our
 distinguished honorees, I pray that the class of 2000 find joy and fulfillment
 in all that they achieve," said Sweeny.
     Honorary degrees will be conferred on acclaimed American fashion designer,
 Tommy Hilfiger, noted public servant Corinne "Lindy" Claiborne Boggs and
 social reformer, Dorothy F. Cotton.  Rabbi Amiel Wohl will also be recognized
 at the ceremony.  He is slated to receive The College of New Rochelle's
 prestigious Pope John XXIII Medal.
     Thomas J. Hilfiger is the example of one of our best American success
 stories.  He was born the second of nine children in a Roman Catholic
 household in Elmira, New York.  In 1984, he launched his first signature
 collection.  The collection grossed $5 million in the first year and
 $16 million in the second.  In the late 1980s, Tommy started his own company,
 Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A., Inc.  Since that time, the name Tommy Hilfiger has
 become an American icon.  This success however, did not deter Tommy from the
 strong family values he had learned as a child.
     Tommy's story includes sharing the fruits of success with the society
 around him.  He has been actively involved in multiple sclerosis research as a
 board member for Race to Erase MS and for many years in the Fresh Air Fund,
 which provides New York City's neediest children with free summer vacations
 away from the city streets and offers a Career Awareness Program, which
 prepares inner-city youth to pursue meaningful careers.  He is also a
 dedicated supporter of numerous charities through the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate
 Foundation.
     Corinne Claiborne Boggs, "Lindy" to the world, is a woman of many
 "firsts."  In 1973, she was the first woman from Louisiana to be elected to
 Congress; in 1976, she became the first woman to chair a Democratic national
 convention, presiding over the nomination of President Jimmy Carter; and in
 1997, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton to be the first woman
 ambassador from the United States to the Vatican -- a position she holds to
 this day.  A crusader for social justice, she spearheaded legislation on
 issues ranging from civil rights to credit access to pay equity for women.
 She is the mother of Cokie Boggs Roberts, National Public Radio and ABC
 correspondent.
     According to Dorothy F. Cotton, "we all can be more. Like a caterpillar in
 a cocoon, you could grow wings.  And when you're ready and your wings are
 strong, you can fly and soar to great heights."  Born in Goldsboro, North
 Carolina in 1931, Cotton went on to become the only female member of the
 Executive Staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC),
 becoming one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s closest confidantes.  Her
 presence in SCLC's inner circle put her at the forefront of the Civil Rights
 Movement as a planner, coordinator, and demonstration leader.  She later
 founded her own consulting company, Dorothy Cotton & Associates, which
 conducts seminars on leadership development, individual empowerment, and
 social change.  Dorothy is also one of the founding members of the National
 Citizenship School, devoted to teaching people how to create publicly
 accountable institutions that reflect high democratic ideals and enhance the
 capacity of every individual to live a meaningful life.
     Rabbi Amiel Wohl is the Senior Rabbi at Temple Israel and the co-founder
 of the Coalition for Mutual Respect with Reverend Vernon A. Shannon of St.
 Catherine African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.  With the goal of
 rebuilding and enhancing communications between Blacks and Jews in order to
 conquer the injustices of bigotry and intergroup hatred, the Coalition has
 sponsored numerous programs to bring people together, including interfaith
 services, pulpit exchanges, and public programs.  Rabbi Wohl's vision of
 creating a vehicle that would extend beyond the temple's walls led to his
 popular, groundbreaking weekly radio program that for the past twenty five
 years has served as an inspiration to people of all faiths.
     Extremely active in the community both locally and nationally, Rabbi Wohl
 has been an integral force with many religious organizations, including the
 Interreligious Council of New Rochelle, the Westchester Board of Rabbis, the
 Westchester Israel Action Committee, and PERLE (People for Relief in Lebanon),
 an interfaith project that fosters understanding of problems in the Middle
 East.
     Among his many awards, he earned life membership in the National
 Federation of Temple Youth for distinguished service to youth, the Martin
 Luther King Drum Major Award, and the Omega Psi Phi Award for Outstanding
 Achievements in Improving Human Relations.  He holds an honorary Doctor of
 Humane Letters degree conferred by The College of New Rochelle in 1993.
     The College of New Rochelle will confer approximately 1,000 bachelor's
 degrees on graduates of the all-women School of Arts & Sciences, the
 co-educational School of New Resources for adult learners, and the School of
 Nursing, as well as approximately 400 degrees on the women and men of the
 Graduate School and the School of Nursing master's degree program.
 
     Founded in 1904, The College of New Rochelle was the first Catholic
 college for women in New York State.  Today, it comprises the all-women School
 of Arts & Sciences, and three schools which admit women and men: the School of
 New Resources (for adult learners), the School of Nursing and the Graduate
 School.  The main campus is located in lower Westchester County, 16 miles
 north of midtown Manhattan.  The college maintains six other campus locations
 in New York City.
 
 

SOURCE  The College of New Rochelle