President's Message
On a sunny day in May 1989, I concluded my first year as president of Dominican College by awarding 92 bachelor’s degrees and 30 master’s degrees during Commencement in Forest Meadows Amphitheater. Twenty years later, at two separate commencement ceremonies, we awarded degrees to 300 undergraduates and 177 graduate students. We also bade farewell to over 100 elementary, high school, and special education credential students who will be eligible to teach this fall.
There have been many changes since I arrived in San Rafael in fall 1988 to begin my first year. The student population then was 665; last fall that number was over 2,100. Anyone who walks through our campus today is impressed with the grounds and the buildings. In recent years we have added to our infrastructure, with the Conlan Recreation Center in 2000, Edgehill Residence Halls in 2002, the Science Center in 2007, the recent purchase of Magnolia House, and our plans to restore the Edgehill Mansion to its former glory.
Looking back on 20 years, one realizes that the more things change at an institution of higher learning, the more they stay the same. Then, as now, our goal is straightforward: provide our students with the best possible education in a positive and nurturing environment with caring and knowledgeable faculty mentors and a dedicated Board, administration and staff providing guidance and support. We have the same desire to provide all of our students with a strong liberal arts core; the same need to manage the institution in an effective and efficient manner; the same ambition to have Dominican recognized regionally and nationally as a university of significance; and we are guided by the same spirit and traditions that built this University more than 115 years ago.
This fall we will offer many interesting academic and cultural events on campus. We will begin our new year of Leadership Lecture Series with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday, August 12, 7 p.m. in Angelico Hall. The program is in conjunction with Book Passage and the cost, $35, includes Pelosi’s new book, Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters. On Sunday, September 23, 7 p.m., Angelico Hall, Amy Tan, librettist, and Stewart Wallace, composer, will discuss The Bonesetter’s Daughter: The Making of an Opera
The new work will debut at the San Francisco Opera in September. These are just two of the many informative and dynamic speakers we will host in the upcoming academic year.
We look forward to welcoming you to our campus soon.
