Stephen J. Sweeny has been president of The College of New Rochelle since July 1, 1997. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Sweeny served for 16 years as senior vice president for academic affairs, the College’s chief academic officer. He joined The College of New Rochelle in 1976, as assistant to the provost and in quick succession he became assistant to the president for government relations, the executive assistant to the president, vice president for planning and acting vice president for academic affairs, and then was selected as the chief academic officer of the College which is located in Westchester County and New York City, with four schools on seven campuses and a current student population of almost 7,000.

Dr. Sweeny’s first position in education was as a junior high school teacher and then principal. He began his career in higher education as director of Campus Ministry at Manhattan College. He is active in numerous professional organizations and accrediting bodies including the Middle States Association and the National League for Nursing. Dr. Sweeny currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the College of Saint Elizabeth, Morristown, New Jersey, and as chair both of its Academic Affairs Committee and Student Services Committee. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of La Salle Academy, New York City, and the Neyland Commission of Colleges and Universities. His professional and research interests include mission effectiveness studies of educational and other non-profit organizations.

Dr. Sweeny has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish literature from The Catholic University of America , and masters degrees in theology and in counseling psychology from Manhattan College. He received the Ph.D. in higher education from New York University. He participated in the Harvard Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University in 1990 and the Seminar for New Presidents in 1997 and is now a faculty member for this Harvard program.