Molloy dedicates Dominican Sisters statue

Molloy College celebrated its roots and looked to its future as it rededicated Maria Regina Hall and dedicated a sculpture on its grounds.

The sculpture commemorates the Dominican Sisters of Amityville who founded Molloy by depicting a Sister and a student sitting on benches, deep in discussion. The sculpture is in a courtyard behind Maria Regina Hall.

“I look at that statue and I imagine the two of them, student and professor, conversing about the future and how life for women in society would change in the years ahead,” said Sister Mary Pat Neylon, the Prioress of the Sisters of St. Dominic and a Molloy College Board Member. “And each one of them sharing what they saw as the future, and how a Molloy College education could be a personal and professional catalyst for change in the lives of its students and thus society at large.”

Molloy College President Drew Bogner said Eugenia Rudmann, the alumna who donated the sculpture, had embraced the statue and was able to see it before her death. “There has never been a more dedicated, loyal alumna of the college than Genie,” he said. “She really cared about — in addition to her family and friends — really two things, the Sisters and the college.”

Edward Thompson, the Vice President for Advancement at Molloy, added that Rudmann was determined to support the sculpture despite its high cost.

Daniel Dern, Rudmann’s cousin, said that she always wanted to make a difference in people’s lives but she would “sneak up on you” and she was always really grateful to the Sisters for her education. “Her hope was that this statue was detailed in a way that accurately depicted the past,” he said. “But was also able to relate to the students of today, trying to keep the Dominican spirit alive here.”

The ceremony was also an acknowledgement that Maria Regina Hall, which used to house Dominican Sisters, was now a residence hall for students – the second on Molloy’s campus.

“Dating back six years ago, if we had a student coming from New Rochelle or East Hampton… there’s a realistic chance that they wouldn’t be able to commute to Molloy,” said Christian Romanelli, a Molloy senior and a Resident Assistant at Maria Regina. “And now, living right above us, are students from all over the world. These are students with perspective. These are students with a purpose. These are students who I’m very thankful to have gotten to know and watch grow over the past four years.”

The ceremony ended when Bishop Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Rockville Centre blessed the sculpture with holy water.