SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Seton Hall University has received a $1.75 million gift from the estate of the late Henry F. Roman, a 1954 graduate, and his wife, Maryann. The donation will be used to further elevate the College of Communication and the Arts by helping to launch a new Ph.D. program in communication, creating an endowed professorship and providing additional support for doctoral students and faculty development.
In honor of the gift, the university will create the Henry F. and Maryann Roman Endowed Professorship in the College of Communication and the Arts, and doctoral students receiving support will be known as Roman fellows.
“The Romans’ remarkable gift will enhance the Seton Hall experience for generations of graduate students in communication and the arts,” Seton Hall President A. Gabriel Esteban said in a press release. “We are truly grateful for their outstanding generosity.”
Deirdre Yates, dean of the College of Communication and the Arts, believes that the Romans’ significant philanthropic support will have a transformative impact on the college and its programs.
“This gift will benefit our entire college and help to bring us national recognition,” Yates said. “With this gift, the appointment of communication scholar Renee Robinson as our new director of the Center for Graduate Studies, and the input of our preeminent faculty, we will build an incomparable curriculum reflective of our unique niche and our Catholic identity.”
Yates explained that the new doctoral program is being designed to reflect current trends and breakthroughs in all areas of communication reflecting today’s media markets and harnessing the knowledge and expertise of top research faculty and practitioners from around the nation and the world. The doctoral program is expected to launch in Fall 2018.