On March 5, St. Joseph’s College President Donald R. Boomgaarden, Ph.D., will be the guest speaker at LIMBA’s (Long Island Metro Business Action) virtual meeting. The topic will be “The Challenges Faced By Higher Education During Uncertain Times.”
Under Dr. Boomgaarden’s leadership and in response to the COVID pandemic, St. Joseph’s College (SJC) took a number of proactive steps to acknowledge the very real challenges facing college students. Last spring, tuition rates were frozen for the 2020-2021 academic year and the amount of emergency financial aid disbursed was increased. In addition, the College created an emergency fund for students in immediate financial distress. For prospective students currently in high school, SAT scores were made optional when applying for spring 2021 admission. While continuing to adhere to all guidelines and best practices, SJC spent more than $2 million to outfit the campuses with the necessary equipment for the continued health and safety of its community, and has been offering a multifaceted approach to classes since Fall 2020 that gives students four options for learning and course instruction: remote, hybrid, on-ground and online.
“At St. Joseph’s, we focus on developing the whole person, instilling a love of learning, a spark of curiosity and a firm, moral foundation that prepares our students not only for their future careers, but also for lives of deep meaning and service,” said Dr. Boomgaarden. “Even in today’s uncertain climate, we are confident in our services and commitment to helping our students find gainful employment upon graduating from St. Joseph’s.”
Dr. Boomgaarden currently serves on the steering committee of the Long Island Regional Advisory Council on Higher Education (LIRACHE), in which he is also chair to the Superintendents and College President’s Partnership, and as chair of the Lower Hudson Valley Consortium of Catholic Colleges and Universities. He was recently appointed Board Chair of the Association of Colleges of Sisters of St. Joseph and has been named one of the most influential Brooklynites by “Brooklyn Power 100” for two consecutive years.
He previously served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Scranton. Before that, he was the Dean of the College of Music and Fine Arts and David P. Swanzy Distinguished Professor of Music at Loyola University New Orleans. A historian of opera, music aesthetics and harmonic theory, he is the author of “Musical Thought in Eighteenth-Century Britain and Germany,” and published articles and reviews in scholarly journals, including the Journal of Musicological Research and Journal of Music Theory.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. Please visit the LIMBA website to register for the event. Registration is free, but spots for the discussion will be limited.
For more information, call (631) 757-1698 or visit www.limba.net.
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About LIMBA
Since 1968, LIMBA (Long Island Metro Business Action) has been Long Island’s catalyst for economic investment and improvement, sponsoring lively breakfast forums featuring Long Island business activists and government officials. Its mission is to promote and address issues that affect the quality of life on Long Island. For more information, call (631) 757-1698 or visit www.limba.net.
