Marymount Manhattan College to Host 75th Anniversary Gala, Honoring Nora Moran ‘06 and Bedford Hills College Program

Nora Moran served ten years incarcerated at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. She earned a bachelor’s degree through Marymount Manhattan College in 2006, graduating summa cum laude. Her Capstone project received the Dean’s Award for Excellence at MMC’s 2007 Annual Honors Colloquium. Nora was released from prison in 2008 and began working as an administrative assistant for Puppies Behind Bars (PBB). Now, four years later, she is the director of PBB’s Dog Tags program that places service dogs with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. As an instructor for PBB, Nora is also going back into prison twice a week to teach women at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and men at Fishkill Correctional Facility to raise and train puppies to become service dogs. 

Proceeds will provide support for Bedford Hills College Program. Through this program, Marymount Manhattan College offers college-preparatory courses and courses leading to an Associate of Arts degree in social science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, New York State’s only maximum-security prison for women. 

BHCP students benefit from a quality education while incarcerated as well as upon their release from prison. Women who are released after completing their Marymount Manhattan degrees have new worlds to experience, and new opportunities await them. Those released while in pursuit of their degree programs are encouraged to complete their degrees at the College’s Manhattan campus. Many of these students are the first in their families to attend college; earning a degree is a significant accomplishment. Graduates of the Program have reported that receiving a Marymount Manhattan degree is a life-changing experience. This is at the essence of the College’s mission to educate a socially and economically diverse student body as established by the Sisters of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary upon the College’s founding in 1936. 

This year’s gala co-chairs are Nancy and James Buckman, Judith (’03) and Russell Carson, Natasha Pearl and Richard Stowe, and Lucille Zanghi and James Dow P’11. 

Invitees may choose to reserve a table for 10 at one of the following levels: Leadership ($25,000), Benefactor ($15,000), Sponsor ($10,000) andDonor ($7,500). Ticket prices are Two Champion Tickets ($2,500), Individual Patron Ticket(s) ($1,000), Individual Friend Ticket ($750) andIndividual Alumna(us) Ticket ($500). 

Reservations can be sent to the Marymount Manhattan College Advancement Office c/o CMI Events, 1325 Sixth Avenue, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10019. For more information call (212) 763-8599 or send an email to mmm@cmevents.net. 

Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, independent, liberal arts college. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development.

Published: April 18, 2012