Saint Joseph's College (Indiana), a Catholic college founded and sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, pledges itself to a tradition of excellence and to a liberal education that is a united endeavor of intelligence and faith.
Open House a Success
In June, Saint Joseph’s College began marketing an open house to be held on August 7th. This open house was the first step in attracting students to new programs being held at the College through partner institutions. At the open house, the University of Saint Thomas, Calumet College of Saint Joseph's, and Ivy Tech College had representatives on the campus to meet and greet prospective students. The University of Saint Thomas will be offering a two-year associate's degree in cybersecurity. Calumet College of Saint Joseph will be offering a certificate program in business and a business program for adult students who have completed their associate's degree. Ivy Tech College will be offering a variety of courses to be determined based on area need. In addition, Saint Joseph's also highlighted its extremely successful healthcare certificate programming.
Interested students and their parents were asked to pre-register for the event. Thirty-three pre-registrations were received and twenty-five of those attended. In addition, several individuals were “walk-ins” to the event through the open house invitation on the electronic sign at the front of the campus. Board members, the mayor, the Rensselaer superintendent, the alumni president and his wife, and other alumni and friends of the College attended.
The open house on August 7th was the beginning of an expanding campaign to return accredited classes to the Saint Joseph's Rensselaer campus. The partner institutions will be working with the students who have shown an interest in their programs. The outreach to the community through various media is ongoing. The initial classes will be offered tuition-free with the overriding goal of providing attractive degree-granting programs at affordable prices to the local community.
Homecoming 2021 – On Campus!
It’s time to come home Pumas! Saint Joseph’s College and Saint Joseph’s College Alumni Association, Inc. are partnering to bring Homecoming back to campus. “Beer, Brats, and Lake Banet,” Homecoming 2021 will take place at Lake Banet on Saturday, September 18. Join us for a day filled with lots of Puma memories, good food, cold beer, and strolling around our beloved campus. Start the day with Mass in the Chapel at 10:00 am, then come down to Lake Banet for the traditional Beer and Brat Tent (open from 11 am to 5 pm). Guided campus tours depart from the Core Building at 1 pm and 3 pm.
For more information, visit the SJC Alumni Associations website at www.involvedforlife.net
Want to stay on campus? Saint Joseph's College invites you to spend a night in our campus apartments. With a donation of $250 per guest, you can reserve your room for the night! Check-in will be Saturday, September 18, 2021, between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm in the Core Building. Check-out is Sunday, September 19, 2021, by 10:30 am in the Core Building. Sunday morning breakfast provided in the foyer of the Core Building between 8:00 and 10:30 am. Fresh linens will be provided. Apartment requests will be on a first come first serve basis. Up to 5 guests per apartment. Numbers are limited, so contact us today!
Register at www.saintjoe.edu/homecoming
Questions? Contact us at 219-866-6000 x2014 or bgraf@saintjoe.edu
Health Science Certificate Programs Update
As the summer programs come to an end here at Saint Joe, our Health Sciences students are preparing to take their national and state certifying exams. This summer, we began our very first EKG technician program after the pandemic. The EKG program students all passed their national certifying exam and are on their way to their new healthcare careers. We also had our night Phlebotomy program take their national certifying exam this week and continued to hold our 100% success rate in the CCMA, CPT and EKG programs. Our largest Medical Assistant program and our day Phlebotomy program are aimed to take their national certification exam at the end of September. We were truly blessed with the group of ladies and gentleman that graduated from our programs this summer!
Enrollment for the fall and winter Health Sciences Certification Programs is in full swing! We are excited to begin our first hybrid and fully online programs this Fall! The hybrid Certified Billing and Coding Specialist program is aimed to start this September and enrollment for our fully online Certified Medical Administrative Assistant will be going live at the end of August. We are still in the process of bringing in more Health Sciences Certification Programs so stay tuned!
Contact Us
Saint Joseph’s College
PO Box 300
Rensselaer, IN 47978
www.saintjoe.edu/
Beth Graf
Director of Communications and Development
Email: bgraf@saintjoe.edu
Phone: 219-866-6000 ext. 2014
Fr. Philip Gilbert Beloved Mathematics Professor
Fr. Philip Gilbert, C.PP.S., 90, died at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 15, 2020 in the infirmary at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio. He had been in failing health.
Fr. Gilbert was born on February 17, 1930, in Chicago, to Philip and Elizabeth (Buffa) Gilbert. He entered the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1949 and was ordained on May 28, 1960.
In 1961, Fr. Gilbert was appointed to education ministry at Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., which is sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. There he spent nearly five decades in ministry as a math professor at the college. During his career there, he served as chairman of the math department and was also on the college’s faculty athletic committee. He retired from teaching in 2016 and moved to St. Charles in 2017.
Preceded in death by his brother and sister-in-law, Hilary and Carol Gilbert, Fr. Gilbert was the last surviving member of his immediate family.
Fr. Gilbert loved his life as a priest, and he also loved Saint Joseph’s College. In fact, it was love at first sight, he once said. His older brother attended the college as well as some of his friends. When he went to visit, “as soon as I saw it, I fell in love.”
His parents, Italian immigrants who changed the family name from Gilberti to Gilbert, wanted both their sons to get a college education. They were in favor when Fr. Gilbert enrolled at the college that was to become his home for most of his adult life.
While there, he served with compassion and commitment. “I wasn’t brilliant at mathematics, but I was good at it,” said the priest, always self-deprecating. His students describe him as a man devoted to both of his vocations, the priesthood and education.
He was a favorite among the faculty and staff as well, presiding at a daily midday mass in a chapel on campus for as long as he was able—even when he had to proclaim the Gospel through a large magnifying glass.
Fr. Gilbert also helped out at parishes in the Gary Diocese and, for his Community, served several terms as district chair and the local C.PP.S. director at the college. For many years, he was the chaplain of Knights of Columbus Council 1881 in Rensselaer.
He also loved baseball, rooting for the White Sox as a boy; later in life he committed the apostasy of switching his allegiance at least in part to the Cubs. He played baseball in high school and was an excellent point guard on the school’s basketball team. “I was a hustler,” he said. “I had a knack of seeing who was open and feeding them the ball.” A teacher could be said to be a point guard too: seeing who is open and feeding them what they need. A priest, too.
Certified Clinical Medical Assistant Program Starts Two New Classes
The next two cohorts of CCMA classes began on Tuesday October 20th and Tuesday November 10th. That class is filling up quickly! Saint Joe was blessed with a great start to our certified medical programs. This class is 11-weeks and meets twice a week, four hours a day. There are eight students in the October class and seven in the November class.
The CCMA program qualifies for a Next Level Jobs grant from the state of Indiana. The Next Level Jobs program provides an opportunity for eligible Indiana residents to receive tuition-free training for careers in high-demand, high-paying jobs in areas that are in high demand. Next Level Jobs will cover the cost of tuition and required fees associated with earning the industry-recognized credentials/certificate. Many of our students have qualified for this grant.
For more information about the program, please visit www.saintjoe.edu.
Thanksgiving Blessings
Giving Thanks
For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,
For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home -
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,
For the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand,
For the good that our artists and poets have taught,
For the friendship that hope and affection have brought -
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
For the homes that with purest affection are blest,
For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,
For our country extending from sea unto sea;
The land that is known as the "Land of the Free" -
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
--- Author Unknown
We are thankful for all of you! Happy Thanksgiving from the Saint Joseph’s College Staff and Board of Trustees.
Contact Us
Saint Joseph’s College
PO Box 300
Rensselaer, IN 47978
saintjoe.edu
Email: bgraf@saintjoe.edu
Phone: 219-866-6000 ext. 2014