Board Member Margaret La Rosa D’Angelo ’70Ed, ’22HON, and her husband, Chairman Emeritus Peter P. D’Angelo ’78MBA, ’06HON, generous alumni and longtime benefactors of the ‘St. John’s University, pledged a $20 million donation – the largest single gift in St. John’s University’s 152-year history – to support construction of the new Health Sciences Center (HSC) on the Queens, NY campus. Their support directs $15 million toward building the HSC and $5 million toward the University’s most critical needs.

Mr. D’Angelo, President of Caxton Alternative Management, LP, a private investment firm, received his Masters of Business Administration from St. John’s. Ms. D’Angelo is a graduate of St. John’s School of Education. Both received honorary degrees from the University.

“St. John’s University holds a special place in our hearts,” Mr. and Mrs. D’Angelo said. a place that turns opportunity into results for hard-working students who want to make a difference in the world.”

Mr. D’Angelo was first elected as a St. John’s trustee in 2003; he was elected chairman in 2011 and elected chairman emeritus in 2016. During his tenure as a director, he devoted his time and talent to several committees, including the executive, audit and compensation and quality of education. He also chaired the investment and financial resources management committees. He was a member of the National Campaign Committees and Executive of the University’s “Making the Dream Come True” fundraising campaign.

Ms. D’Angelo, affectionately known as “Peg”, is currently a University Trustee and a strong supporter of education, access and opportunity for all. She is a past president of the Board of Catholic Charities of Long Island. She was a trustee of St. Anne’s Church in Garden City, NY, and Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead, NY. Believing in the transformative power of Catholic education, she takes a proactive approach to amplifying academic experiences that engage, enlighten, and inspire young people.

The new 70,000 square foot Health Sciences Center, currently under construction and slated to open in the fall of 2024, will become the permanent home of St. John’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. The new nursing program in St. John’s launching next month is currently housed at the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Queens County’s largest health workforce provider and one of the country’s leading health care educators. New York area.

“The center’s design and flexible room layouts will promote interprofessional education among existing university programs and enable students to learn together and work as a team, like the real-life situation found in any clinical environment,” remarked Simon G. Møller, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Distinguished University Professor and Endowed Provost President. “The center’s state-of-the-art simulation facilities will allow students to learn in a safe and realistic clinical environment before beginning rotating clinical assignments at off-campus sites. The generous support of Peg and Peter D’Angelo will help make this possible.

The center, which is estimated to cost $106 million, is partially funded by a federal appropriation of $1.25 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, guaranteed by Representative Gregory W. Meeks in the United States House of Representatives and Senator Charles E Schumer in the United States Senate. Additionally, St. John’s was awarded a $5 million New York State Higher Education Matching Grant and a $700,000 Empire State Development Grant in Round XI. of the initiative of the Regional Economic Development Council.

At the suggestion of the D’Angelos and with the approval of the St. John’s Board of Trustees, the Health Sciences Center will be renamed in honor of Saint Vincent de Paul, the 17th century Catholic priest who combined faith, intellect and a keen business acumen to revolutionize the methods of caring for and educating those in need. Respected by the powerful and loved by the poor, Saint Vincent de Paul bridged social classes through his works of charity and his advocacy on behalf of the underprivileged. St. John’s was founded and is sponsored by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians).

“The Vincentian mission of service and education that shines in St. John’s is one that we need more of today,” noted Ms. D’Angelo, who chairs the board’s Mission and Student Success Committee. of St. John’s.

Together, the D’Angelos have already left an indelible mark on St. John’s. The couple endowed a scholarship for math majors who want to pursue careers in education and established the Peter P. and Margaret A. D’Angelo Professorship in the Humanities at St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. , the oldest division of the university. The D’Angelo Chair and Lecture attracts high-level, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary visiting professors to the College for a semester of teaching and scholarly exchange.

Opened in 2009, the strikingly beautiful D’Angelo Center on the University’s Queens campus is a visible reminder of their generosity and exceptional devotion to the alma mater. Modeled after the Great Hall on Ellis Island that welcomed immigrants to the United States, the center – commonly referred to by students as “the DAC” – is a five-story, 127,000 square foot multi-purpose academic facility that is a grassroots center. student life and campus activity.

“Few people have had a greater impact on St. John’s University than Peg and Peter, who are role models of all that St. John’s seeks to accomplish,” said Reverend Brian J. Shanley, OP, president. . “Not only did the D’Angelos give their time and talent to St. John’s, but they were also wise stewards and extraordinarily generous benefactors. Whether in brick and mortar or in the core Vincentian values ​​they emulate, they demonstrate an exceptional devotion to the alma mater and a true spirit of supportive service to generations of students at St. John’s. I am grateful to the D’Angelos for their extraordinary philanthropy and for all they do for St. John’s.