ST. JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK SET TO CELEBRATE 107TH ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY

May 01, 2026 BK LI

BROOKLYN and PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – May 1, 2026 – St. Joseph’s University, New York (SJNY) will celebrate its 107th annual commencement ceremony on Tuesday, May 19 at noon at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York for more than 1,100 graduates. 

This year’s commencement speaker is Elyse Deublein Harney ’52, founder of Elyse Harney Real Estate and co-founder of Harney & Sons Fine Teas. In 1983, Harney co-founded Harney & Sons Fine Teas with her husband, John Harney. What began as a small business, now includes over 300 blends sourced around the globe, an online store and shops in SoHo, Manhattan and Millerton, New York.

In 1987, Harney founded Elyse Harney Real Estate. Inspired by her summers spent in Litchfield Hills, Connecticut, Harney wanted to create a family-owned boutique real estate firm that offered unparalleled client satisfaction. After 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. 

Harney has served on several committees in her community, including the Salisbury Board of Selectmen, Historic District Commission and the Board of Education. She is co-founder of the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service and was the first woman to serve as eucharistic minister at her parish, and with her husband, founded its youth ministry program. In 2024, she and her family were awarded the Robert and Mary Lou Estabrook Community Leadership Award for their contributions to the community. Harney will receive an honorary doctorate degree.

St. Joseph’s will also recognize Brooklyn Valedictorian Sulabh Katila ’26 and Long Island Valedictorian Victoria Corcoran ’26 during the program.

For more information about this year’s commencement, 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 area 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 and spiritual values, social responsibility and service. Through its Brooklyn, Long Island and online campuses, the University offers degrees in more than 100 majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs.