March 16, 2005
Student and Employee Contingent Will Also
March in Annual Event
Queens, NY – Denis P. Kelleher, Chairman of St. John’s
University’s Board of Trustees, will serve as the Grand Marshall of
the 244th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Thursday, March 17,
2005. A group of approximately 150 students, employees and faculty
will also march in the parade, which steps off at 11 a.m. and will
be televised on WNBC-TV in New York.
Mr. Kelleher is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wall
Street Access, a diversified financial services organization
operating for the last 25 years in downtown Manhattan. A native of
county Kerry, Ireland, Mr. Kelleher immigrated to the United States
in 1958 – legend has it, with $1.50 in his pocket – and immediately
took a job as a “runner” with Merrill Lynch. Attending St. John’s
University at night, Mr. Kelleher earned his bachelor’s degree and
later went on to positions at Ruane Cunniff & Co., Inc. and
Discount Brokerage Corporation before founding Wall Street Access
in 1980. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. John's
University, and serves as a member of several other boards,
including those for Independence Community Bank, The New Ireland
Fund, the Irish Economic Advisory Board to Irish Prime Minister and
the American Irish Historical Society, among many others. He has
received dozens of awards and honors, including an Honorary Degree
from National University of Ireland, Maynooth; a Doctor of
Commercial Science honoris causa from St. John's
University; is the recipient of a 1986 Award from Staten Island
Borough President Ralph Lamberti for Staten Island's Outstanding
Immigrants that have significantly contributed to the civic welfare
of Staten Island; and has been voted a Member of the “Wall Street
50” in Irish America magazine.
For more information, please contact Jody Fisher, Director of
Media Relations, at (718) 990-6185 or at fisherjo@stjohns.edu.