ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — St. Bonaventure University will help usher in the holiday season on Wall Street when its president and a student ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Nov. 25.
Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., and Mark Larry, a senior finance major from Grand Island, N.Y., will ring the bell together in celebration of the university’s 150th anniversary. A live webcast of the event will be seen at www.nyse.com. CNBC’s “Closing Bell” with Maria Bartiromo also broadcasts the 4 p.m. ringing of the bell.
The Franciscan university in Western New York was founded on Oct. 4, 1858. A 15-month celebration of the sesquicentennial began March 31 and continues until the class of 2009 graduates on May 17.
Joining Sr. Margaret and Larry on the bell podium shortly before the 4 p.m. closing will be Michael Fischer and Brenda Snow, university vice presidents; alumnus William Foster; and several university trustees, including chairman John McGinley Jr.
The original signal was a gavel, but during the late 1800s, the NYSE switched to a gong to signal the day’s beginning and end. After the NYSE changed to its present location at 18 Broad St. in 1903, the gong was switched to the bell.
But it wasn’t until 1995 that the NYSE began having special guests ring the bells on a regular basis. Prior to that, ringing the bells was usually the responsibility of the exchange’s floor managers.
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About the University: St. Bonaventure is in the top 25 percent of institutions in U.S.News & World Report’s 2009 ranking of Northern Universities – Master’s. It has a history of accomplishment and service that extends back 150 years. At the heart of St. Bonaventure University is the Franciscan affirmation of the dignity and worth of the entire created order. Fundamental to this vision is an awareness that it is within relationships and community that individuals discover and develop their potential.