About SJC
Past, Present, and Future of St. Joseph’s

Chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York on February 24, 1916, St. Joseph’s College for Women, as it was then known, held its first classes at 286 Washington Avenue, in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn. Two years later, having outgrown its original facility, the College moved to the present site of the main campus at 245 Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn.

Reverend William T. Dillon, J.D., Professor of Philosophy, Dean of the College, and later President, guided its growth during the significant years that followed. The Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools accredited the College in 1928. Maintaining high standards of academic excellence, professional competence and a notable spirit of community service, the College drew increasing numbers of young women.

The long–term development program for the College was launched in the mid–sixties with the erection of two buildings. First in 1965, with McEntegart Hall, a multifunctional building housing the library and classrooms and three years later with the pioneering Dillon Child Study Center, a unique laboratory school offering Child Study majors an invaluable hands–on learning experience while also serving as a resource to the Brooklyn community.

In 1970, a Charter amendment changed the College’s name to St. Joseph’s College, New York and allowed male students to matriculate for the first time. The early 1970’s also found St. Joseph’s clearly defining a continuing education program that it had been developing for years. The College registered with the New York State Education Department the Bachelor of Science in General Studies in April 1974.

In 1971, St. Joseph’s inaugurated an upper division extension program in Brentwood, Long Island. Three years later, the College expanded its operation at the Suffolk branch campus to a full four–year program, and in 1979, moved to a new 27–acre lakeside campus in Patchogue, where the Long Island campus remains today.

In 1995, St. Joseph’s introduced its first graduate degree, the Master of Arts in Infant/Toddler Therapeutic Education. The program underwent a revitalization in 2003, changing its name to the Master of Arts in Infant/Toddler Early Childhood Special Education. A second graduate program, a Master of Science in Management degree, was added in 1999.

Earlier that year, the College renamed its program for adult professionals, the Division of General Studies, as the School of Adult & Professional Education to reflect more accurately its status as the fully–accredited, degree–granting program into which it had evolved. At the same time, the Division of Arts & Sciences became known as the School of Arts & Sciences.

Through the years, both campuses grew in size as the College obtained new properties and added facilities. In 1998, St. Joseph’s acquired a five–story brownstone at 256 Clinton Ave., which now houses the Brooklyn staff of the Office of Institutional Advancement, along with faculty offices. The Brooklyn Campus expanded again in 2001 with the purchase of the former St. Angela Hall Academy complex at 256 Washington Ave., where St. Joseph’s was established 86 years ago. Additionally in Brooklyn, the College bought property on Vanderbilt Ave. that was developed as an attractive, attended parking facility.

Responding to a growing need among Brooklyn’s student population, the College also recently opened the Marygrace Calhoun Dunn Academic Center, a program that provides academic assistance to English Language Learners (ELL) students.

Once housed in a single building, the Patchogue Campus has expanded to include six separate facilities, with the addition of the Business Technology Center, Clare Rose Playhouse, the Callahan Library, the John A. Danzi Athletic Center and a building at 319 West Roe Blvd., which houses the Patchogue staff of the Office for Institutional Advancement. Facilities for nearby parking were obtained as well. The $8–million Business Technology Center was opened in October 2002 that includes new classrooms and computer labs, videoconferencing rooms and faculty offices.

It is clear that St. Joseph’s College is continuing its tradition of academic excellence, in keeping with its motto, Esse non videri ("to be, not to seem").