From the President
Greetings from Montclair,
What an amazing year! We just celebrated Commencement and I’m still filled with the joyful feelings that graduation brings, especially this year, because we could mark the occasion in one large outdoor ceremony – at MetLife Stadium, no less. After the last couple of years, I felt it important that we all be together. So for the first time in several years, we combined our graduate and undergraduate ceremonies and allowed an unlimited number of family and friends to enjoy the day with us. It was inspiring!
Commencement reminds those of us who devote our lives to higher education why we are here. By providing our students a strong educational foundation – including learning experiences grounded in public service – we prepare them to create the world they want to live in.
As you’ll see in these pages, our students get to stretch themselves in innumerable ways while also getting the chance to help others – from changing young lives in Paterson, to returning to their underserved high schools as teachers, to learning about primates and helping the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo conduct research to help with their animal conservation efforts. As New Jersey’s premier public service university, making a difference is, quite simply, what we’re all about.
This spring I announced another way we are making a difference – through partnership with Bloomfield College, whose mission is closely aligned to ours. As New Jersey’s only four-year Predominantly Black Institution, as well as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and Minority Serving Institution, Bloomfield College provides students from these underrepresented communities with the education they need for social and economic mobility. Our relationship with Bloomfield College is meant to ensure that the college can continue to carry out that vital mission for the long term.
As I complete my first academic year as president of Montclair State University, my admiration for the passion and innovation of our alumni, students, faculty, staff and community partners only continues to grow. With your support, we will continue to make an impact on our local communities, as well as at the state and national levels.
My investiture, the ceremony in which I will officially be installed as president, takes place September 15, 2022. For specifics and more information as it becomes available, I invite you to visit montclair.edu/investiture.
Carpe Diem!
Jonathan Koppell