By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

When Mercy Sister Rosemary E. Jeffries returned to take the helm as president of her Georgian Court College alma mater 14 years ago, she asked everyone to embark on a journey with her into the dawn of the 21st century.

Back then, there were great expectations of what “Walking the Path Together,” the theme she set for her inaugural events, might bring. But it is unlikely that anyone could have imagined just how far that path would lead and how different the GCU experience would become.

The major changes and accomplishments ushered in by Sister Rosemary will be well documented in the university’s written history. As the eighth president of Georgian Court College, Sister Rosemary led the 106-year-old institution through the process of transforming itself from a well-respected small liberal arts college known for its annual bumper crop of grade A teachers, into a full-fledged university. That status was awarded in 2004.  Less than a decade later she presided over another monumental change when, in 2012, she and trustee leadership announced that GCU would transition to full co-ed status.

She spearheaded The Campaign for Georgian Court – the largest fundraising effort in the institution’s history, which raised $17.2 million in 2008, exceeding its original goal of $15 million. The campaign helped to guarantee GCU’s ability to offer a high quality Catholic education to students into the future.

But her influence came in small, intrinsic ways as well. Now, just four months before Sister Rosemary retires, the evidence of her vision, passion and leadership abound on the Georgian Court campus. New residence halls and a chapel that welcomes students and members of the community to religious services and programs grace the lush landscape overlooking Lake Carasaljo. There are men’s dormitories and, in tandem with a flourishing women’s sports program, an expanding number of men’s sports programs as well.

Framed by its iconic, wrought iron fence, the campus bustles with activity and energy. Well-kept buildings dating from its landmark days as a retreat for the wealthy Gould family stand alongside new, eco-friendly structures, including the nationally recognized Wellness Center described by Sister Rosemary as “an environmentally-friendly ‘green’ structure” that shows respect for “all living things.”

But when Sister Rosemary talked about changes to the institution on her watch during a recent interview, she began by focusing on the blue and gold signposts along the path that point the way to education and experiences designed to last a lifetime.

Inscribed with the words “Mercy, Integrity, Respect, Justice, Compassion and Service,” they are emblematic of the foremost goal of her tenure at GCU: focusing on the Catholic identity of the institution and most specifically, raising its profile as the Mercy University of New Jersey.

True to the Core

Sister Rosemary, 66, has served the Sisters of Mercy for 48 years in a wide variety of roles ranging from education to communication.

Looking back, she describes her call to vocation as the most profound event of her life. “I’ve reflected on it many times over the past many years,” each time considering, she said, “how it set me on a path” in the choices that would unfold over the decades.

The values of the Sisters of Mercy and her own religious formation were key factors in her career choices, she said. “Had I not been a member of the community, I might not have made those choices.”

“Probably the organizing principle is wanting to serve,” she said. “That’s what I found most attractive … and the sense of community that encourages one to be on a spiritual journey and be attentive to that journey is very important.”

The Mercy Core Values, she said, prepared her well for the role she would fill as president. “They make you attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in the day in and day out, as well as the hard decisions or challenging times. For me, it was a great foundation.”

She spoke of her goal to enliven the campus with those values from the moment she arrived as president, and indeed, even before.

“When I arrived, there were a women’s college and a graduate school,” she said. “It was very visibly a liberal arts college and other than (some religious) statues, there were no visible signs that it was a Mercy or indeed a Catholic college.

“When I put my name in the ring” for the post, she said, “I called attention to Mercy traditions and Catholic mission and how I would work to focus on and incorporate those values with outreach.”

With a background in communications, marketing and public relations for the Trenton Diocese and the Sisters of Mercy, Sister Rosemary pledged that she would seek a wide range of resources for marketing the college with the focus on its Catholic identity and Mercy Core Values.

 As she and her transition team “visioned for the university, we wanted it to become the Mercy University. Focusing on the core values, which were not well known, was important,” said Sister Rosemary, who spoke of integrating them into the academic and social life of the school.

An outward sign of this initiative is seen in the ways in which students are involved in numerous service projects, she said, including: Lakewood Together, where GCU students tutor and mentor youngsters in the struggling public schools of Lakewood; building homes for Habitat for Humanity locally and nationally; and missions to aid people in Central America.

“Service at Georgian Court is not an add-on,” she said. “It’s woven into the tradition and the experience they receive here. People often say these generations are selfish, but my experience is that they are very generous and want to make a difference.”

Along the Path

Two women who were part of the visioning process with Sister Rosemary talked about the energy her faithful approach added to the effort in achieving university status, and continuing to increase the academic and architectural infrastructure.

Mary Lee Batesko, now a professor in the school of education, was a special assistant to Sister Rosemary. Patricia Koch, an alumna, who is now GCU trustee emereta, was an active member of the board of trustees for 12 years.

Koch talked about how the president “dusted off the values and put them out there … and turned the attention to the students. This is what the students can observe and take with them (as role) models.”

She describes it as a “very exciting time, especially for someone like me who is an alum. … Her influence and the external influences in our world came together in a good way.”

She worked hard, Batesko said, to get GCU known throughout the United States, and she always sought more scholarships for students.

Her aim, Batesko said, “is to bring people here who deserve an education,” whether or not their families can afford it.”

Working with and engaging the broader educational community was also a priority for Sister Rosemary’s administration, said JoAnn Tier, moderator of the diocesan Office of Catholic Education and superintendent of Catholic schools.  She recalled how Sister Rosemary invited members of the department and Catholic school presidents and principals to a forum so that GCU could learn the needs of the overall community.

“From that listening session and ongoing conversation, a number of programs unfolded,” Tier said, including those that address leadership formation and professional development in Catholic schools. Key among the offerings were workshops that focused on supporting students with special needs and disabilities in the diverse body of learners and students with interests in the arts and science professions.

Sister Rosemary said she’s especially proud of the success of the nursing program instituted during her tenure in cooperation with Meridian Healthcare, and is excited about the Diocese’s permanent diaconate formation program coming to the university.

Ever Present

For the past 14 years, Sister Rosemary has been front and center at events key to the academic and social life of Georgian Court University and its students.

Cheering from the sidelines at sporting and dance events in the Wellness Center and the playing fields beyond, listening intently at seminars such as the one Feb. 17 on race, or lectures by such eyewitness arbiters of history as Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, Fidel Castro’s estranged daughter, Alina Fernandez, and human rights activist and children’s advocate Marian Wright Edelman, her constant presence is appreciated by students.

Seniors Amanda Earle and Kerrin McCarthy and freshman Nicholas Ciccone point to Sister Rosemary’s participation in campus life as one of the reasons that the GCU experience is not unlike belonging to a family; it is a place of belonging.

“(Sister Rosemary) is so approachable and interested in the students,” said McCarthy, head of campus ministry for student government who speaks from a generational as well as a personal perspective.  Both her mother and sister were GCU students; her sister Nora matriculated as a history major and her mother, Annemarie, earned a master’s degree in education.

“I met (Sister Rosemary) when Nora was here and she was just very welcoming and willing to talk,” said McCarthy.

“Just yesterday, we sat together at a seminar on race and had a good conversation. It’s not just me who has had such experiences,” said McCarthy, a member of St. Mary Parish, Middletown. “It’s something about her that many students appreciate.”

Earle, a member of St. Aloysius Parish, Jackson, described Sister Rosemary’s presence on campus as one of the most engaging parts of going to Georgian Court. Knowing some students from other schools who “don’t even know what their president looks like,” the student added, “then I think about going to the choral concert just before Christmas and there she was, saying hello to every single person.”

“There’s not a function of Georgian Court she doesn’t attend. She’s in the dining hall eating lunch, spending time in the library. You see her so often, you almost forget she’s president.”

“She’s not just a figurehead,” said Ciccone, a nursing student. “She lives the values and she’s an independent, strong woman. Coming here from Christian Brothers which is all male … it was great to see how strong she is. To me, she is a real example of servant leadership. She leads by example.”

The students all said they don’t like to think of a time without her on campus.

But Sister Rosemary is philosophical about her departure.

She’s looking forward to new possibilities with “old loves,” and plans to take up painting once again, take her first sabbatical and write with a focus on Catholic social teaching.

She said that when she’s asked about what to expect from an as yet unnamed successor, she encourages people to be open to new possibilities.

“They shouldn’t expect another Rosemary Jeffries,” she said. “I started here in the 20th century as a student and saw it through to a new century. You can’t pour new wine into an old wineskin.

“The campus community needs to be about making new wineskins to embrace the new wine of Georgian Court. That’s what an educational institution is always about … always welcoming new generations of learners and new ways of looking at society.”