Alaina RobinsonHe will be a tough act to follow. Dr. Joseph Romano, oordinator of the Honors Program for, what he can remember, to be twelve years, is resigning from the position at the end of this semester. Looked upon as a patriarchal figure in the Cabrini community, his leadership within the Honors Program will not go unnoticed.
Among the many accomplishment of which he is proud, Romano believes that one of his greatest is the number of new honors seminar courses that have been added to the course roster. “That’s a tribute to our faculty. New courses are the life-blood of good schools,” Romano said.
His goal has been to make the courses “general enough that any major can take [them], but deep.” Believing that there are “more than enough students that like ideas,” he holds the Honors Program up to the test of time.
Leaning over to whisper a divulgence about becoming an honors student, Romano said, “Do you want to know my secret criteria? They are people who like to think and study without a gun to their head.”
What he has enjoyed immensely are the special trips that he has been able to take with the Honors students. He has taken them to the Academy of Music, the Arden Theater, for hikes at the Delaware Water Gap and last semester, to a Socratic play in New York City. One of his students, sophomore Christa Angeloni, sees him as “very enthusiastic about everything he does. He makes topics in class more interesting because he tends to get worked up over them, and he is tons of fun to hold a conversation with, especially if you do not see eye to eye with him.”
Recently, his most prized effort has been the South Eastern Consortium of Higher Education conference of which he was in charge, along with his committee of Dr. Anthony Tamasco, Dr. Sherry Fuller-Espie and Dr. Charlie McCormick. Cabrini comprised over one third of the presenters at this year’s SEPCHE conference, with a total of 32. “That’s because of the faculty. I put a notice out and they get the students involved. The collegiality of the faculty here is tremendous. They respond to good things,” Romano said.
“To get this kind of response is gratifying, it’s incredible. It’s time to give someone else a chance to run it. To continue would be rather piggish.” Succeeding Romano as coordinator of the honors program will be Dr. Charlie McCormick, professor of English/communications. “Dr. McCormick will do an excellent job,” said Romano.
“I want to tend the program and help encourage people’s love for ideas in the ways that all my predecessors in the Honors Program, but particularly Dr. Romano, did,” McCormick said.
McCormick has already overseen the admissions office’s acceptance into the Honors Program for the Fall 2003 semester. He is also in the process of holding an open house for incoming students that will be involved in the program. Another idea of his for the future is designated Honors residencies on Cabrini’s campus in order to cultivate a strong learning community.
“Looking at the program today, from my perspective between the past and the future, I see the vision and drive of Dr. Romano that has brought Honors to where it is, and I wonder where it can go next.
