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Jersey City, N.J. –<\/span><\/strong> Saint Peter’s College today announced that Rochelle Hendricks, New Jersey’s Secretary of Higher Education, officially approved the College’s application for university designation following a rigorous review of programs, faculty, students and facilities. The College’s original charter from 1872 grants Saint Peter’s all of the “powers, functions and prerogatives of a university,” and this momentous announcement will mark the beginning of the transition from Saint Peter’s College to Saint Peter’s University.<\/span><\/p>\n “Today Saint Peter’s College is taking a monumental step into the future and endless possibilities await us,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s College. “University designation is an integral part of the College’s strategic plan to generate market recognition as a comprehensive institution. However, we will forever maintain our commitment to personal attention and to a Jesuit education founded on the liberal arts, which has defined us for 140 years.” <\/span><\/p>\n More than thirty years ago Saint Peter’s College offered the first master’s program and since then the students and programmatic composition of Saint Peter’s College has evolved and is reflective of a comprehensive university. The College now grants bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees and 40 percent of degrees awarded are at the graduate level. Graduate studies have grown to seven degree programs in five academic fields serving 970 students in the last academic year. <\/span><\/p>\n With the growing demand for master’s and doctoral degrees, university status will bolster the College’s market position by promoting the range of programs and academic degrees, which Saint Peter’s already offers. The university designation will also help to strengthen enrollment and expand international partnerships. <\/span><\/p>\n “A new day is truly upon us,” said Kathleen M. McKenna, Esq.,<\/span>’75, chairman of the Saint Peter’s College Board of Trustees. “Under the leadership of President Cornacchia, Saint Peter’s has embraced a fresh, new vision and as a result has seen unprecedented progress. The designation of university status, a goal we have been working towards for the past four years, marks another historic Saint Peter’s milestone along with the construction of the student center, the recent accreditation of the <\/span>four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, St. Aedan’s becoming the Saint Peter’s College Church and much more.”<\/p>\n