11 minute read
Manor History
CREATING A LEGACY ON FOX CHASE ROAD
Manor College has come an incredibly long way over 75 years. It’s seen political dignitaries visit and been the site of large festivals. Our walls are where nurses took their first steps, veterinary technicians cared for their first animals and entrepreneurs first developed their businesses. Most importantly, this is a place where tens of thousands of students can come for a supportive community - a true home. Here are some of the biggest moments in Manor College’s history.
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Manor College attains Middle States Association accreditation.
Manor College, originally called St. Macrina College, was founded by the Ukrainian Sisters of Saint Basil the Great as a fouryear liberal arts college.
1947
Manor College is officially chartered and incorporated by the higher education system of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to grant Associate’s Degrees.
1959
Mother of Perpetual Help Hall opens.
1961
St. Josaphat Hall opens. The hall holds the first dormitories on campus complete with kitchens and common areas.
1964 1967
1969
The Basileiad Library opens on campus.
1978
The Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center opens its doors on campus.
1988
Manor College becomes a fully coeducational institution as men are admitted into day classes.
2015
Dr. Jonathan Peri becomes Manor College’s first lay President and first elected male President.
2018
Manor College is authorized to award Bachelor’s Degrees by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
REMEMBERING OUR ROOTS
Manor College was founded by the Ukrainian-based Sisters of Saint Basil the Great in 1947. We’ve maintained our Ukrainian roots ever since, whether that be at Ukrainian festivals or through our Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center, established on our campus in 1978. Here’s some of the ways we’ve celebrated through the years.
REMEMBERING WHEN LEONID KRAVCHUK, UKRAINE’S 1ST PRESIDENT, VISITED CAMPUS
KRAVCHUK VISITED CAMPUS ON MAY 10, 1992 AS PART OF A LARGER TOUR OF PHILADELPHIA. HERE’S HOW THAT VISIT CAME TO BE.
The world remembered Leonid Kravchuk, the first Ukrainian President who died on May 10, 2022.
Kravchuk is hailed as the man who led Ukraine to independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He served as the Ukrainian President from 1991 to 1994.
Following his election in 1991, Kravchuk visited Manor College’s campus as part of a larger tour of Philadelphia on Mother’s Day, May 10, 1992.
Kravchuk’s visit was organized by Dr. Leonid Rudnytzky, a then La Salle University professor and father of Manor College’s Director of Student Records and Institutional Heritage, Nicholas Rudnytzky.
Following Ukraine’s independence on December 8, 1991, Dr. Rudnytzky began thinking it would be a great idea to have Kravchuk visit Philadelphia and the academic community. As a professor teaching Ukrainian literature, he developed contacts with Ukrainian diplomats.
Three weeks before La Salle’s 1992 Commencement, Dr. Rudnytzky spoke with Brother Patrick Ellis and received the go-ahead to confer an honorary degree to Kravchuk. That left Dr. Rudnytzky organizing a tour of Philadephia in just three weeks.
“His trip became the subject of international publicity,” Dr. Rudnytzky said. “He wanted to learn what Philadelphia was like and that’s how he came to Manor.”
On the multi-day tour, Kravchuk would see the Ukrainian Cathedral in Center City and had traffic stopped on the Schuykill Expressway to watch the boats on the river.
Dr. Rudnytzky said Kravchuk left most amazed by Manor College. The institution was founded by the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great, a Ukrainian religious order, in 1947.
“Manor is a Ukrainian institution, that’s why we made sure to send him there,” Dr. Rudnytzky said. “We wanted to show him the only college with Ukrainian roots. He knew there were Ukrainian churches in America, but Manor was this special Easter Egg for him.”
Nicholas Rudnytzky added, “Manor College is America’s only Ukrainian institution for higher learning, and Kravchuk was amazed we even existed. There was, nestled in the community, a wonderful little Ukrainian culture that was reminiscent of home.”
Kravchuk’s visit was well attended, with an estimated 1,000 people on Manor’s campus to welcome him with open arms. Kravchuk toured the Ukrainian Heritage Center and sat for a meeting with the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great.
The entire tour received international press coverage. Dr. Rudnytzky said he received publications from a friend in China or Japan that covered the event.
The significance of Kravchuk’s tour still resonates today, Nicholas Rudnytzky said. “Ukraine was a fledgling democracy at the time visiting the world’s oldest democracy. The tour laid the foundation for a very positive outlook of Ukraine from the Western World.”
HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED
Did you know that many of Manor College’s earliest graduates completed degrees in various fields of secretarial work? Court reporting and music were once majors at Manor College. Here’s a quick glance through some of those programs.
BARBARA OSINSKI ‘66
Mother Olga was very unhappy with the yearbook staff. We had a picture - it was me and my friend - we were in some class and something funny happened. We are laughing our heads off. Sister Olga didn’t like that because we weren’t being studious.
LIVING IN MANOR’S BACKYARD, ALUM GRATEFUL FOR CHANCE TO GROW
ROSEMARY (HENNESSEY) KELLY ‘65 ALMOST DIDN’T GO TO COLLEGE AT ALL. SOME HELP FROM HER MOM AND THE SISTERS OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT CHANGED ALL THAT.
Manor College always had a presence in Rosemary (Hennessey) Kelly’s life. Her childhood home in Rydal was a mile-and-a-half from Manor’s campus.
Despite the distance, Kelly ‘65 never believed she would attend Manor College – or any college for that matter.
“I never really thought that much about going to college because I knew my father didn’t think we had the money to spend for college,” Kelly said, “but my mother intervened.”
Not long after Kelly graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School, her mother approached her. With a summer job and some savings, Kelly’s mother could provide the help. With only a few weeks before the start of school, Kelly called and applied to Manor College.
“They were very gracious,” Kelly said of the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great. “I had a meeting with Sister Miriam Claire, and was introduced to Sister Lawrence and Mother Olga. After my meeting with them, that’s how I ended up going to Manor.”
Kelly remembers Manor fondly. The Sisters left a lasting impression, including Sister Laura, who worked in Manor College’s music department.
“She had this positive, saintly presence,” Kelly said. “I didn’t even have her for a class, but I remember she would play the piano and talk with the students. Her love for them exuded her presence, filling the room and being a lovely person.”
What she didn’t realize while attending Manor College was the bond she’d create with a group of friends – one that still holds until this day.
“McDevitt was a large school, so when I came to Manor, I met friends who went to McDevitt that I hadn’t met previously.”
The friends met taking similar classes at Manor. Kelly remembers the down times, taking trips in someone’s convertible to grab a snack between classes or fun times on the yearbook staff. Those days resulted in a lifelong friendship between Kelly and three other Manor alums.
“Manor has this atmosphere where everyone cares about each other,” Kelly said. “Everyone was incredibly friendly.”
Kelly graduated from Manor College in 1965 with her Associate’s Degree in Secretarial. She went on to work at UNIVAC, performing general secretarial and administrative work – the highlight of which was meeting Gracy Mary Hopper, a pioneer in computers and a Navy Admiral.
She believes that without Manor College, she wouldn’t have had the confidence to succeed in the real world.
“Manor College gave me a positive attitude,” Kelly said. “It wasn’t expected of me to go into higher education after high school. Now, you see in today’s world how important that education is, and I can look back and know that it was important that I went as well.”
Looking back, she is still astonished that she even made it into Manor College in the first place.
Kelly said, “I applied very late and they gave me the chance to attend when I had not thought school was an option. I was able to walk there every morning and home every afternoon. That’s what endears me to Manor, they gave me the tools to succeed.”
Rosemary Kelly works on the Foxprints newspaper in 1965.
SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
The more things change, the more they stay the same at Manor College. Take a look through the lives of Manor students both past and present.
1971
2021
2021
2022
BASILEIAD LIBRARY ON DISPLAY
THESE WOOD CUTOUTS DEPICTING THE MANOR COLLEGE LIBRARY APPEAR IN OFFICES ACROSS CAMPUS.
The Artifact: Wooden Cutout of the Basileiad Library
The Details: Look through several offices at Manor College and you’ll find a wooden cutout of the Basileiad Library on a shelf or displayed on a desk.
The artwork was created in 1997 in celebration of Manor College’s 50th anniversary. Inscribed on the back of the pieces is the following: The Basileiad Library of Manor Junior College, Located in Jenkintown, Pa. (A Suburb of Philadelphia), is a two and one half story library/administration building. Administrative offices are located on the ground and third floors. The library, housed on the second floor and balcony level, has a capacity of 60,000 volumes. The current collection includes 41,000 books, periodicals, and newspapers. A law library consisting of 4,000 volumes, and the Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center Collection of Ukrainian Books are also part of this library.
The wood cutouts are fairly rare, as only 100 were made.
MANOR COLLEGE’S GIRLS CHOIR WAS JOINED BY THE “PROMETHUS” IN 1974.
The Artifact: A vinyl disk recorded by “Promethus” and the Manor Junior College Girl’s Choir in the 1970s.
The Details: “Prometheus,” an all-male choir that traveled throughout the United States and Canada, performed in front of a large crowd at Manor College in 1970. The group was conducted by Michael Dlaboha and performed Ukrainian melodies in the auditorium.
Sometime after the concert, Prometheus recorded the vinyl in accompaniment with the Manor Junior College Girls Choir.
According to the 1971 Macrinian, the performance included Ukrainian melodies, with Miss Maria Meducha, Manor College’s translator, explaining the story behind each of the songs.
The vinyl was recorded and released on March 2, 1974.
THE MANOR COLLEGE FOXES?
AS EVIDENCED BY A SMALL GLASS, MANOR COLLEGE ONCE WENT BY THE FOXES.
The Artifact: A small glass with a fox over the Manor Junior College name.
The Details: Today, Manny the Blue Jay proudly roams around campus, spreading his wings at open houses and at sporting events, but Manor College wasn’t always the mighty Blue Jays.
In the early 1950s, Manor Junior College’s basketball team was occasionally known as the “Foxtrotters.” Several references to the name were made in the student newspaper at the time.
When intramural sports debuted in the 1950s, the teams were referred to as the “Manorettes.”
Manor College wouldn’t become the Blue Jays until the 1980s due to the Jenkintown campus being abundantly populated with Blue Jay birds.
