How We’re Powered By Purpose
2/26/2026
Our Mission in Motion
This story originally appeared in the 2025 Annual Report.
At the University of Mount Saint Vincent, purpose has always driven our progress. From the classroom to the community, every new initiative, academic program, and innovation is rooted in the belief that education is not only about knowledge, but also goodness, discipline, and an understanding of the common good.
As we continue to explore innovative new partnerships, we find ourselves anchored in the same question: how can we best serve our students, our community, and our world?
In one reflective moment of response to this question—last January—the Mount announced that it made the strategic step forward to restructure the academic divisions of the University from individual departments to schools—enhancing the University’s institutional efficiency and effectiveness while addressing the challenges facing higher education today. This move created six schools under the larger university umbrella, with three serving solely students enrolled in the Undergraduate College of Mount Saint Vincent and three crossing ties between the Undergraduate College and the College of Professional and Graduate Studies.
While each academic department has been preserved—including the appointment of new faculty chairs—the University created positions for a new dean or assistant dean in each of the six schools. It is important to note that this restructuring was not for cost savings, but for organizational opportunity. The Mount is proud to be navigating the challenges of higher education without having to cut programs or positions—and that’s significant.
Each of the six schools—the School of Business; the School of Education; the School of Humanities, Communication, and Art; the School of Natural and Mathematical Sciences; the School of Social Sciences; and the Saint Joseph’s School of Nursing—have fostered deeper collaboration among faculty and are actively creating more intentional pathways for students to launch meaningful careers aligned with today’s market.
Guided by a strong ethical foundation, faculty and members of the administration also came together to revise the University Learning Outcomes—further solidifying our purpose while responding to the needs of an ever-changing workforce and yet remaining faithful to our Vincentian and Setonian traditions in education. Each of the six schools is committed to fostering analytical skills, critical thinking, effective communication, and ethical and religious inquiry among their learners while incorporating these values into their respective courses.
And perhaps no program embodies this intersection of tradition and innovation more than the Saint Joseph’s School of Nursing. This academic year, the Mount is proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the re-launch of our nationally recognized nursing program—a program that has shaped generations of compassionate, highly skilled nurses.
What began in 1975 as a bold response to a growing demand for healthcare professionals has, in these last 50 years, become one of the University’s signature strengths, growing into a thriving school that serves not just traditional undergraduate students, but also accelerated students with learning sites across the boroughs, master’s and certificate students pursuing licensure as a Family Nurse Practitioner, and even the first culturally sensitive accelerated program for Jewish women and men in partnership with the Sara Schenirer Institute.
With thanks to the leadership and generosity of Saint Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers—lead by President and CEO Michael J. Spicer—the University was able to name the Saint Joseph’s School of Nursing in 2023 through a generous $2.5 million gift. Saint Joseph’s, also a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Charity of New York, eagerly came together with leadership at the Mount to further imbue the Charism of Charity among our local communities of the Bronx, Westchester, and beyond.
“Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the nursing program here at the Mount is both humbling and inspiring,” said Provost and Dean of Faculty Lynne Bongiovanni, PhD. “For half a century, our graduates have answered the call to serve with compassion, skill, and courage. This milestone reminds us of the legacy we inherit from the Sisters—and the responsibility we have to prepare the next generation of nurses who will continue to make a profound difference in the lives of others. As we look to the future, our hope is to expand opportunities for students to learn, lead, and innovate in healthcare and beyond.”
From the earliest graduates who entered New York City hospitals in the 1970s and 1980s among the height of the AIDS epidemic, to today’s students training in advanced simulation labs with state-of-the-art manikins and technology, nursing at the Mount has always represented care in action and, of course, the values instilled in us by the Sisters of Charity. For 50 years, Mount Saint Vincent nurses have been prepared not just to practice, but to lead.
The Saint Joseph’s School of Nursing is just one example of how a Mount education is powered by purpose. Students in the School of Business are learning how to navigate complex industries by earning certificates in cybersecurity, computer science, and accounting. Teachers pursuing master’s degrees in the School of Education are learning to lead with empathy and create classrooms that welcome all learners. And no matter what major our students select, all of our schools are ensuring that our students of both today and tomorrow find that they have a responsibility to put our mission in motion through their personal and professional lives.
“Every decision we make—whether launching a new school, revising a curriculum, or expanding a program—is molded and motivated by our mission,” remarked President Susan R. Burns, PhD. “We know that the world needs graduates who are not only knowledgeable, but also driven by a higher purpose. That is what defines a Mount education.”
It’s your support that makes a Mount education possible. With every investment in our programs and students, you sustain our momentum of transformation while preserving the values that have guided us since 1847. You ensure that the Mount’s mission is not just preserved, but propelled into the future. And this is how we are powered by purpose—by a legacy of courage, a community of learners and leaders, and by the generosity of those who believe in the opportunity of higher education.
About the University of Mount Saint Vincent
Founded in 1847 by the Sisters of Charity, the University of Mount Saint Vincent offers a nationally recognized liberal arts education and a select array of professional fields of study on a landmark campus overlooking the Hudson River. Committed to the education of the whole person, and enriched by the unparalleled cultural, educational, and career opportunities of New York City, the University equips students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary for lives of achievement, professional accomplishment, and leadership in the 21st century.