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¼â½ÐÊÓƵ Bellarmine Receives Leadership and Economic Development Award

A collective of individuals positioned in front of a podium, indicating a moment of anticipation or dialogue.
By Jeannine Graf

On December 4, the ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ Bellarmine associate’s degree program received a leadership and economic development award at the 2024 Annual Awards Gala of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council (BRBC), held at the Waterview in Monroe, Conn.

Named for a BRBC president and CEO who retired in 2016 after leading the council for 28 years, the Paul S. Timpanelli Leadership Award recognizes the impact that ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ Bellarmine — located on Bellarmine Campus at 460 Mill Hill Ave. in Bridgeport — is having in the East End neighborhood and celebrates ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ University’s shared vision to strengthen community through sustained partnerships in the Greater Bridgeport region and create intergenerational prosperity through a transformative, values-based education.

The two-year ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ Bellarmine program features a core curriculum in the humanities and sciences and major tracks in business, computer science, health studies, and liberal arts. Upon graduation, many Bellarmine students plan to transition into bachelor’s degree programs while others will seek meaningful employment.

Rev. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., executive director and vice provost of ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ Bellarmine, accepted the Paul S. Timpanelli Leadership Award on behalf of Bellarmine’s faculty, staff, and students. In his remarks, Fr. O’Brien spoke of ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ University’s decision to open Bellarmine Campus in the East End of Bridgeport. He expressed his gratitude for the welcome he and his colleagues have received “from those on the East End and in the Mill Hill neighborhood.”

“We have revitalized, with the help of the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, the old St. Ambrose parish and we feel very much at home there,” said Fr. O’Brien. “We look forward to being in the neighborhood for a very, very long time.”

Fr. O’Brien introduced Del’vondre Ramroop FB’26, a first-year ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ Bellarmine student in attendance at the awards ceremony who aspires to be a social worker. Fr. O’Brien noted that Ramroop is one of 111 students currently studying at Bellarmine Campus. Sixty-six percent are first-generation students and ninety percent hail from the city and surrounding towns of the Greater Bridgeport region. He closed his remarks with gratitude, telling the BRBC gala attendees, “We are committed to our students and through our students to all of you in this great region. Thank you very much and God Bless.”

The ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ Bellarmine two-year associate’s degree program proudly welcomed back 36 students in the Class of 2025 this fall, representing an 82 percent retention rate. Small class sizes and intensive mentoring and advising from faculty and staff have been important contributors to this strong retention rate. This recent showcases some of our students describing what the ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ Bellarmine experience means to them.

¼â½ÐÊÓƵ Bellarmine’s second cohort currently has 75 students in the Class of 2026, demonstrating how word is getting out about the incredible education and meaningful pathways available at Bellarmine Campus in Bridgeport.

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