Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole Named To APLU 2020 Board of Directors

Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole has been named to the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ (APLU) 2020 Board of Directors. She will serve a three-year term, beginning November 11, 2019.

The APLU is a research, policy and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the work of public universities in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Its member institutions – 212 campuses and 25 university systems – educate 4.9 million undergraduate and 1.3 million graduate students, award 1.3 million degrees annually, and conduct $44.9 billion in university-based research.

APLU’s Board of Directors provides oversight, sets direction and establishes membership and governing policies. Board members help APLU deliver its mission of supporting public institutions to become more effective at delivering excellent and affordable higher education while advancing cutting-edge research, and community and economic engagement.

“Public research universities provide people with a level field of the highest quality educational opportunity, the platform from which all other economic and social opportunities can become attainable,” says Cole. “I am pleased to take on this responsibility because APLU delivers excellent service to, and advocacy for, these important institutions and their students.”

“We’re so pleased to have Susan Cole join the APLU Board of Directors,” says APLU President Peter McPherson. “The Board of Directors plays a key role in shaping APLU’s work to advance the education, research and engagement missions of public higher education. We will depend on her deep experience as a higher education leader and we’re looking forward to having Susan at the table helping to provide a national direction.”

Since becoming the eighth president of Montclair State University in 1998, Cole has led a transformation that has seen Montclair State University become New Jersey’s second-largest university. The University has nearly doubled its enrollment to 21,000 students, built 3.5 million square feet of academic space and housing for 5,500 students, launched dozens of new degree programs, created new colleges and schools, and gained recognition as a Research Doctoral University, a New Jersey Public Research University and a Hispanic-Serving Institution.

With more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels, the University now confers more than 5,000 degrees annually while maintaining its status as one of the most affordable, accessible public institutions in New Jersey.

For more information on the APLU, visit aplu.org.