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Happening ... in the Local Church
 “We
here are a close family. Close families do not fail,” said newly
installed President F. Dennis Riegelnegg. He is the third lay president
in the history of the college sponsored by the Missionaries of the
Precious Blood. |
 F.
Dennis Riegelnegg stands before Bishop William L. Higi during his
installation on Sept. 18. |
 Approximately
150 attended the celebration in the campus chapel. |
“A time to look to the future with great enthusiasm.”
By Kevin Cullen
The
Catholic Moment
RENSSELAER — The third lay president in the history of Saint Joseph’s College was officially installed on a sunny Sept. 18 in a ceremony filled with music, symbolism, blessings and hope.
The leadership style of President F. Dennis Riegelnegg was described as “very Precious Bloodish.” He was challenged to push for unity, inclusiveness and the development of human potential.
“I want us to challenge ourselves like we’ve never been challenged before,” Riegelnegg told approximately 150 faculty, students, family and friends.
The liberal arts college with more than 1,000 students has been sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (CPPS) since 1889.
Riegelnegg began as president on July 1, succeeding the retiring Ernest Mills, who had held the post for eight years. The Sept. 18 installation was held in the chapel, a twin-domed landmark at the heart of campus.
“This is a glorious day and a glorious day in the history of Saint Joseph’s College,” said Bishop William L. Higi, principal celebrant at the Mass of Installation. “… It is a time of hope and a time to look to the future with great enthusiasm.”
Riegelnegg, the 17th president in the college’s history, was formerly vice president for student and community development at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pa. A native of Pennsylvania, he holds a doctorate in administration and policy studies in higher education from the University of Pittsburgh.
The Mass was concelebrated by eight Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Dozens of faculty and delegates from other colleges attended, dressed in blue, red and black academic gowns, hoods and caps.
Following a prelude by the college’s Herald Trumpeters, Father Angelo Anthony, CPPS, delivered the homily. He is provincial director of the Cincinnati Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.
Too often, he said, people protect their own turf and spend their time “demonizing others.”
Those chosen for leadership, he said, must see further than their eyes can look, and be servants, ready to “give and forgive.”
Jesus, he said, should be the model. He saw potential that “rested silently in the hearts” of others, and he was able to “unlock the giftedness and potential of each person.”
Human potential, Father Anthony said, should be recognized as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It was not meant to be used in competition with others, but as a unifying force, a chord in a “symphony of love.”
St. Gaspar del Bufalo, who founded the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1815, was “on fire with this vision of unity,” he said, and believed that the blood of Christ “makes us brothers and sisters” and truly “children of God.”
Similarly, St. Katharine Drexel spent her life and immense personal fortune reaching out to Native Americans and African-Americans that U.S. society shunned. In 1888, she helped pay for construction of a school in Rensselaer for American Indian boys, a building that still stands.
“She used her resources so their gifts could flower,” Father Anthony said.
To Riegelnegg, he said, “As you take on the mantle of leadership, you take on the mantle of faith.”
He noted that in his cover letter, Riegelnegg described his leadership style as one of “inclusion and sensitivity to individual dignity” and he saw the campus community as “a community of learning where all constituencies are stakeholders.”
Those remarks are “very ‘Precious Bloodish,’” Msgr. Anthony said with a smile.
The core mission of the college, he said, is “to give flesh to God’s dream for unity” and to “build a community of united endeavor of intelligence and faith.”
Riegelnegg was presented with the presidential medallion — the symbol of his office — the college seal, and other gifts.
In his address, Riegelnegg urged all to remain open to giving and receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Without the help and support of others, he said, his personal hope for the college can be only an “empty dream” and any strategic plan can only be “bookshelf filler.”
His vision, he said, is a college community in which everyone can laugh, cry, argue and apologize while working together as one.
“If we create a place where it’s just plain fun to work, we will meet our challenges,” he said.
Although a presidential installation is seen as a celebration for the new president, Riegelnegg said, “I’ve seen this as a celebration for you, our community, my wife and family.”
In closing, he said, “We here are a close family. Close families do not fail.”