ST. JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK ALUMNA RECEIVES DOCTORATE OF HUMANE LETTERS AT 107th ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT

May 21, 2026 BK LI

BROOKLYN and PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – May 21, 2026 – St. Joseph’s University, New York (SJNY) alumna Elyse Deublein Harney ’52, founder of Elyse Harney Real Estate and the co-founder of Harney & Sons Fine Teas, served as the University’s 2026 commencement speaker and was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters, honoris causa, at the 107th annual commencement ceremony on Tuesday, May 19 at the Nassau Veterans Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

Raised in New Jersey, Deublein Harney rode the bus daily to attend classes at St. Joseph’s University, New York (then known as St. Joseph’s College for Women) in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, graduating with a B.A. in English in 1952.

In 1983, Deublein Harney co-founded Harney & Sons Fine Teas with her husband, John. What began as a small business soon blossomed, as Harney & Sons Fine Teas found their way into luxury hotels including the Ritz-Carlton and retail stores such as Williams Sonoma. Today, Harney & Sons is managed by two of her sons with over 300 blends sourced around the globe, an online store and shops in SoHo, Manhattan and Millerton, New York.   

In 1987, she founded Elyse Harney Real Estate after she was inspired by her summers spent in Litchfield Hills, Connecticut. After nearly 40 years, and with her daughter now serving as the firm’s owner and lead broker, Elyse Harney Real Estate has grown into one of the region’s most trusted names in purchasing and selling properties across New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. 

Deublein Harney has served on several committees in her community, including the Salisbury Board of Selectmen, Historic District Commission and the Board of Education. She also co-founded the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service and her parish’s youth ministry program.

In 2023, Deublein Harney was presented with the President’s Award for Distinguished Alumni at the University’s Esse Non Videri Awards Gala, and in 2024, she and her family were awarded the Robert and Mary Lou Estabrook Community Leadership Award for their contributions to the local institutions, organizations and residents of Salisbury, Connecticut.   

For more information, visit sjny.edu/2026. 

ABOUT ST. JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK
St. Joseph’s University, New York has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan region with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the University provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual rigor, spiritual depth, social responsibility and service. With campuses in Brooklyn and on Long Island, and many online programs, the University offers more than 100 majors and minors, special course offerings and certificates, accelerated dual degrees and affiliated and pre-professional programs.