Georgian Court Univ. to celebrate 100 years

LAKEWOOD — The year was 1908. It was illegal for women to smoke in public in New York, females were declared unfit to operate automobiles in Cincinnati, and women around the world were struggling to gain the right to vote.

Yet, in spite of this post-Victorian era that showed little advantage to women, in Plainfield, the Sisters of Mercy built a $3 million facility and founded Mount St. Mary's College and Academy for Young Ladies — the institution that would later move to Lakewood and change its name to Georgian Court College.

Now, a century later, Georgian Court University is celebrating its centennial with a variety of events, programs, and ceremonies.

"One hundred years ago, our Sisters stepped out of tradition to build this dynamic learning institution for young women. Today, Georgian Court University serves more than 3,000 graduate and undergraduate students of all faiths and backgrounds in our residential Women's College and coeducational University College," said Rosemary E. Jeffries, university president. "I believe our founding Sisters would be pleased at how far we've come and inspired by where we are heading."

The official kickoff of the yearlong centennial celebration is Sept. 24, also known as Mercy Day, a feast day of Our Lady of Mercy, and also a day celebrated around the world by the Sisters of Mercy, GCU's sponsoring organization. The day will begin with a noon Mass, followed by the opening of the GCU Wellness Center at 3 p.m. and a candlelight ceremony that evening.

"The Wellness Center will help usher Georgian Court into the next 100 years of serving and educating our community," Jeffries said.

Georgian Court broke ground on the $26 million, environmentally friendly project in April 2007, and the Wellness Center complex has transformed the historic GCU campus. State-of-the-art athletic fields for softball, soccer, and a lacrosse/hockey field, an eight-lane track, and tennis courts have been completed, according to a press release from the university.

The 67,000-square-foot building includes a 1,200-seat arena that will support the basketball, volleyball and physical education programs, and an exercise science laboratory. The building will also house offices for the new exercise science, wellness, and sports major; professional dance studios for GCU's new dance major; a fitness center; athletic program offices; a 25- seat classroom; spaces for reflection and gathering; and the university bookstore.

To commemorate the first 100 years of Georgian Court, the university has established a Court of Honor that will honor 100 distinguished alumni. The Court of Honor is scheduled to become an annual tradition of recognizing graduates whose records of service, leadership and achievement have brought distinction to Georgian Court.

Starting in January 2007, the university began revealing 10 Court of Honor inductees per month. By October, those first 100 members will be revealed.

The week of Sept. 22-28 is Mercy Week at Georgian Court University. In celebration of 100 years as a Mercy institution of higher education, GCU will be partnering with local nonprofits and community organizations to host a 100- hour community service marathon.

The Mercy Service Marathon will provide a special opportunity for all GCU students, staff, faculty members, alumni and friends to roll up their sleeves and make a difference in the community.

Participating organizations include the American Red Cross, Providence House of Catholic Charities, Literacy Volunteers of America, the American Cancer Society - Relay for Life, Catholic Charities Emergency and Community Services - Lakewood, the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, the Alpha School, Children's Specialized Hospital, the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program, the Lakewood Parks Department, Contact of Ocean County, and the Lakewood Public Library.

As a university dedicated to the success of women for the past 100 years, GCU will bring women together for an empowering day of learning and sharing. The Women's Leadership Conference, scheduled for March 2009, will include a keynote address and panels discussing a variety of important topics as they relate to women, such as business, politics, global leadership, health and the media.

In 2007, Arcadia Publishing launched the softcover book "Georgian Court University" by Edwarda Barry as part of its Campus History Series. The book is a pictorial history of the university from its founding in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy as Mount St. Mary's College and Academy for Young Ladies.

Other centennial activities include a Centennial Ball to be held Oct. 18, the Centennial Convocation Ceremony on Oct. 24, the planting of the Centennial Garden near the Wellness Center, and other events.