Last Thursday, the University Student Senate (USS) held a Student Farewell Celebration for University President C. Kevin Gillespie, S.J., ’72. The purpose of the celebration was to honor and commemorate the presidency of Gillespie, who will be resigning at the end of the spring 2015 semester.
The event was held in the Doyle Banquet Hall of Campion Student Center. Highlights included addresses from former Student Senate President, Claire Tedesco, ’15, as well as other student senators and Gillespie himself.
There was also an opportunity for students to take photos with Gillespie during the event and the hashtag “ThanksFatherG” was used by students on social media platforms to show appreciation for the university president.
Approximately 100 students attended the event, at which lunch was also served.
The University Student Senate released a statement explaining the reasoning behind their decision to hold a farewell celebration.
“Father Gillespie has touched the lives of many students at Saint Joseph’s and has forged relationships with numerous student organizations during his presidency,” the statement read. “To honor this, the USS voted back in the fall to organize a farewell event for Father Gillespie—as it is a tradition for the Student Senate to organize such events for outgoing presidents.”
Anna McCarthy, ’17, event co-chair, expressed that she and the other co-chairs, Nicholas Chingas, ’16, and Nicholas Paolizzi, ’15, were happy with turnout of the celebration.
“[Chingas, Paolizzi,] and I were glad to see so many students come out and thank Father Gillespie for all he has done for the university,” said McCarthy. “His presence was always so prevalent on campus and he always stopped to say hello. This was a great opportunity to give back to someone who has given so much to the school over the past three years.”
Gillespie began his presidency at the university in fall of 2012 and announced his resignation before the start of the 2014-2015 academic year. The search for a new president is still underway.