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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN COLLEGE | SINCE 1924
Volume CV, Issue 7
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NEW YORK, MARCH 8, 2022
Brennan O’Donnell to Step Down as MC President Kyla Guilfoil Editor-in-Chief
A Soft Winter Sun Glows on Campus The campus Quad is illuminated with warm light as the sun sets. JOCELYN VISNOV / THE QUADRANGLE
OneManhattan Updates as City Restrictions Lighten, Mask Mandate to Continue at MC
Nicole Fitzsimmons
An email sent from OneManhattan to the Manhattan College community announced that the campus mask mandate will remain in place until at least March 31, despite new updates in COVID-19 protocols in both the city and the state. In recent weeks, the NYS protocols for mask mandates and vaccination requirements to enter certain buildings have
been lightened. Therefore, administrators, students, and staff are beginning the discussion of how protocols should look at Manhattan College. “On Sunday, February 27, Governor Hochul announced that the mask mandate for students in K-12 schools will be lifted statewide beginning on Wednesday, March 2. New York City Mayor Eric Adams also announced plans to follow suit in New York City schools beginning Monday, March 7,” the email stated.
IN NEWS:
IN FEATURES:
News Editor
MC Rises in Return on Investment Ranking on pg. 2
Community Unites to Pray for Ukraine pg. 4
However, the mask mandate at Manhattan College is confirmed in the email to remain in effect until, at least, March 31. The reasoning for the continued mandate is partly due to the need for the school to look at numbers as students return from break. In a virtual meeting with the co-chairs of One Manhattan on March 2, student government and administrators were invit__________________________
Brennan O’Donnell will leave his position as president of Manhattan College following the spring 2022 semester. Brother Daniel Gardner, who works in Academic Affairs in the Center for Graduate School and Fellowship Advisement, will serve as interim president beginning on July 1. O’Donnell announced this transition in an email sent to the MC community on Friday, March 4. He explained that he will be taking a sabbatical beginning in July 2022, and will return as a professor of English. “It is with mixed feelings, and after much reflection and prayer, that I have decided that this academic year will be my last as president of Manhattan College,” O’Donnell wrote in the email. “This was not an easy decision, but I know that the time is right to pass the torch. The future is bright for Manhattan College, and I am confident that we will be in good hands with Brother Daniel Gardner, FSC, at the helm while the search for a new president moves forward.” In the same email sent by the Office of the President, there was a second message from William N. Dooley, chair of the Board of Trustees. “The Board has been in discussions with Brennan for a while regarding his desire to take a sabbatical prior to transitioning his role to President Emeritus and Professor of English,” Dooley wrote in the email. “At the Board’s request, for reasons that benefited the college community, he agreed to postpone his plans. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank Brennan for doing so and for his 13 years
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
IN A&E:
Jaspers Embrace Irish Heritage on pg. 8
of service to and leadership at Manhattan College.” O’Donnell told The Quadrangle that discussions regarding this transition began in 2019, when the Board of Trustees proposed that O’Donnell extend his current contract to 2024. O’Donnell agreed to extend his contract to a maximum of five years and a minimum of three years, which would have opened the opportunity for him to transition from president in 2022. “At that time, I thought 2022 might make sense because by that time we would have completed a number of big projects, most importantly: building the Higgins Center, finishing the Middle States Self-Study, and raising at least $165 million for the Capital Campaign, ‘Invest in the Vision,’” O’Donnell wrote to The Quadrangle. “As it turned out, that projection was pretty accurate, so this is a good point for the college to make a fresh start on some new plans and projects.” Dooley recognized the achievements the college has seen under O’Donnell’s leadership since he stepped in as president in 2009. “Throughout his time as president, Manhattan College has consistently ranked high in academic-quality surveys such as US News and the Princeton Review, while distinguishing itself especially as a top college for return on investment and for supporting military veterans,” Dooley wrote in the email. “He has spearheaded the building and opening of both the Raymond W. Kelly ’63 Student Commons in 2014 and the Patricia and Cornelius J. Higgins ‘62 Engineering and Science Center in 2021.” Dooley continued to recognize the growth under O’Don__________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
IN SPORTS: Jaspers Beat Iona on pg. 12