President’s Welcome
Dear Students,
Welcome to Manhattanville College!
Established in 1841 by the Sisters of the Society of the Scared Heart and chartered as an institution of higher education in 1917, Manhattanville will be celebrating its centennial in 2017. Looking forward to the next century in our history, we are mindful of the bedrock values going back to the time when Madeleine Sophie Barat first founded the Society of the Sacred Heart as a reaction to the “Reign of Terror” imposed by Maximilien Robespierre in the years after the French Revolution: to educate young women with a view to enabling them to use their critical thinking skills as weapons in the fight against extremist views and ideologies of any kind. Today Manhattanville is coeducational and nonsectarian, but the underlying values upon which we were founded - dialogue, networking, community, the education of young people, and the focus on using that education for active engagement on behalf of those who do not have the ability to make their own voice heard in society - have lost none of their relevance or urgency. As of today, you are now a member of this community!
The attached Student Handbook is an important tool and guide to all the resources provided to you by Manhattanville College, as well as our self-imposed Code of Conduct, developed in collaboration between faculty, student and staff.
Please take the time to read this document carefully. In it you will have access to a helpful and valuable list of resources and opportunities at Manhattanville, practical hints about managing student life on a day-to-day basis, pragmatic documentation relating to the great resources provided by Westchester County and our proximity to the nearly endless educational and cultural opportunities of New York City. You will also find important information about places to turn to when you are in need of help, whether academic, health-related, or when you just find yourself confused and in need of some good advice. Our faculty, our Student Life professionals, our counselors and my administration are all ready to help. Please call on us when needed.
The Student Handbook describes the rights and responsibilities for both undergraduate and graduate students, and we expect each and every one of you to adhere to this Code of Conduct in the same way that our faculty, our staff, the administration, and the Manhattanville Board of Trustees are bound by their respective rules of professional and ethical behavior. Both your rights as described in this document and your responsibilities as outlined in the Code of Conduct will be taken seriously by our faculty, our Student Affairs staff, the administration and by myself.
It is important to note that as the changing needs of our student population indicate, or as the result of changing federal or state guidelines or other legal requirements, this document may need to be updated. The most up-to-date version will reside on our web site, which is always the most current and authoritative version. The College reserves the right to amend, modify, delete, or make additions to this Handbook at any time with or without notice.
I wish you a successful year and look forward to meeting many of you in person either during my open office hours or during the two or three evenings I will spend in Benziger Dining Hall each week. When you see me there, please do not hesitate to chat if you have any questions or concerns.
Michael E. Geisler, Ph.D.
President