New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice to Keynote Commencement

Ceremony finds new home at Prudential Center in downtown Newark

The Honorable Stuart Rabner, chief justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey, will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Commencement on May 20, 2015.

Honorable Stuart Rabner

"Stuart Rabner has dedicated himself to public service throughout his career," says Montclair State President Susan A. Cole. "He has earned a reputation as a distinguished jurist who has served the people of New Jersey and their justice system with integrity. I am delighted that Montclair State is able to recognize his many accomplishments."

The son of Holocaust survivors, Chief Justice Rabner grew up in Passaic, New Jersey. He graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He began his career as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey and also served as first assistant U.S. attorney, chief of the terrorism unit and chief of the criminal division.

Named chief counsel to Governor Jon Corzine in January 2006, he subsequently held the office of attorney general. In 2007, he was confirmed by the Senate as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey, a position he is expected to hold until he retires.

Because of the closing of the Izod Center in the Meadowlands, this year's Commencement exercises will move to the Prudential Center in downtown Newark and will begin at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20. The University is expected to award more than 4,300 bachelor, master's and doctoral degrees to the Class of 2015 – the largest graduating class in its 107-year history.

For more information about commencement, visit montclair.edu/commencement.