Regina S. Peruggi (born c. 1947)Karen Arenson ''The New York Times'', May 25, 2004. Retrieved April 6, 2008. Age at time of article was 57. is an American educator, who was the President of
Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936.
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and led the
Central Park Conservancy
The Central Park Conservancy is a private, nonprofit park conservancy that manages Central Park under a contract with the City of New York and NYC Parks. The conservancy employs most maintenance and operations staff in the park. It effectively ...
. For 14 years (from 1968 to 1982) she was married to her second cousin, Rudy Giuliani.
Early life and education
Peruggi grew up in a
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...
family in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
Kingsborough Community College
Kingsborough Community College (KBCC) is a public community college in Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and the only community college in Brooklyn.Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', May 4, 2001. Accessed April 6, 2008. She earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
from the
College of New Rochelle
The College of New Rochelle (CNR) was a private Catholic college with its main campus in New Rochelle, New York, but also in Australia, England, and Germany. It was founded as the College of St. Angela by Mother Irene Gill, OSU of the Ursuline O ...
counselor
Counselor or counsellor may refer to:
A professional In diplomacy and government
* Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability
* Counselor (di ...
in a state jail. She worked as a
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
, and
graduate school
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree.
The organization and stru ...
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
.
By 1984 Peruggi worked in the central office of the City University system, and again returned to school at night, earning a
Doctor of Education
The Doctor of Education (Ed.D. or D.Ed.; Latin ''Educationis Doctor'' or ''Doctor Educationis'') is (depending on region and university) a research or professional doctoral degree that focuses on the field of education. It prepares the holder for a ...
associate dean
Dean is a title employed in academic administrations such as colleges or universities for a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, over a specific area of concern, or both. In the United States and Canada, deans are usua ...
Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936.
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, a position she held for eleven years; during this time the college's enrollment doubled. At Marymount, she was credited with turning around the institution financially, in part by recruiting wealthy business personages to the college's Board of Trustees.Ruth G. Davis "The ''Very'' First Lady" '' New York'', April 25, 1994. Accessed September 8, 2019. One professor said, "She's great at fund-raising, beefed up the student body and the faculty, devoted to community outreach and diversity, and brought a great moxie to the school."
She served as the second President of the
Central Park Conservancy
The Central Park Conservancy is a private, nonprofit park conservancy that manages Central Park under a contract with the City of New York and NYC Parks. The conservancy employs most maintenance and operations staff in the park. It effectively ...
from 2001 to 2004, where she sought to continue its restoration via increased fund-raising and appeared on the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...
show '' Back to the Floor''.
Peruggi was named president of Kingsborough Community College in May 2004. Under Peruggi's leadership, Kingsborough Community College experienced record-high enrollment numbers. It was also named one of the top four community colleges in the country when it was chosen as a Finalist with Distinction for the 2013 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Having reached age 65, she announced she was stepping down in April 2014, effective at the end of the coming summer."CUNY Board Appoints Stuart Suss as Interim President of Kingsborough Community College" Press release, City University of New York, April 29, 2013. Accessed June 2, 2014.Ned Burke "Exclusive: Kingsborough President Regina Peruggi To Retire This Summer" Sheepshead Bites, April 15, 2013. Accessed June 2, 2014.
Peruggi has served on the board of directors of the GreenPoint Foundation, the American Red Cross of Greater New York, the Silver Shield Foundation, and the Center for Redirection Through Education. In 2006 she was honored as a 2006 New York State Senate Woman of Distinction. By 2009, Peruggi was the Chairperson Emerita and Chairperson of the Commissioners of the Women's Commission For Refugee Women and Children; on the Board of Managers of the Havens Relief Fund Society; and on the boards of Berkeley College, the Academy of Mount St. Ursula High School, the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and the International Longevity Center."Job Creation and Workforce Development Summit" New York City Global Partners,
City of New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, June 25, 2009. Accessed November 12, 2009. In 2008, Peruggi was named to the Commission on Lifelong Learning of the
American Council on Education
The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educatio ...
and around the same time was named to the Advisory Board of the Student World Assembly.
Personal life
On October 26, 1968, Peruggi married Rudy Giuliani, her second cousin, whom she had known since childhood. In 1975, the couple agreed to a trial separation. Giuliani met local television personality Donna Hanover in 1982, and they began dating when she was working in Miami. Giuliani filed for legal separation from Peruggi on August 12, 1982. The Giuliani-Peruggi marriage legally ended in two ways: a civil divorce was issued by the end of 1982, while a Roman Catholic church annulment of the Giuliani-Peruggi marriage was granted at the end of 1983 reportedly because Giuliani had discovered that he and Peruggi were second cousins. Alan Placa, Giuliani's best man, later became a priest and helped get the annulment. Giuliani and Peruggi did not have any children.