College of St. Elizabeth

Students gather in the Holy Family Chapel on the campus

of the College of Saint Elizabeth

for a blessing before the 114th Commencement exercises.

             (Courtesy of the College of St. Elizabeth)

College of St. Elizabeth

Location: Florham, New Jersey, USA

Opened: 1899

Closed: 2016

And still, the number of women's colleges dwindles to just a few survivors....

From NJCom:

FLORHAM PARK — The College of St. Elizabeth's 2016 commencement on Saturday graduated the school's last class as an all-women's college.

Starting this fall, the only remaining all women's college in New Jersey will become co-ed.

Three hundred seventy-eight graduates including doctoral students in educational leadership received their degrees at the 114th Commencement on Saturday.
Col. Ingrid A. Parker, garrison commander at Picatinny Arsenal, gave the commencement address in which she challenged the Class of 2016 to make a difference in the world.
"As you leave the College of Saint Elizabeth today, you take with you your education and your place in society, as one of the fortunate people, who were able to attain a college degree,"€ she said. "The first thing is I encourage you to be strong, be audacious, and have a little tenacity. Go into your career fearlessly. Look for people who will help you along the way, you will need a network of support."
Maame Quainoo and Meredith Palmer, both of the Class of 20€™16, were selected from among their peers to deliver the student addresses.
Awards of Distinction were conferred upon the following students: Marissa Gioffre of Morristown received the Sister Elizabeth Ann Maloney Award; Marlyne Lamour of Maplewood received the Sister Jacqueline Burns Award; Sister Florence Akhimien of Ibadan, Nigeria received the Sister Elizabeth Houlihan Memorial Award; and Ashley Pledger of Randolph received the Hildegarde Marie Mahoney Award for General Excellence.