In The Know – Issue 92

Montclair’s Online Graduate Programs Ranked Among Nation’s Best

Five University programs were included in the U.S. News & World Report 2024 rankings.

Human Trafficking Survivors Persevere and Inspire

Montclair’s Global Center on Human Trafficking’s Legislative Breakfast honors survivors and advocates, and examines housing shortage and solutions.

Breaking Barriers on Broadway

A simple reading error landed a Montclair graduate the roles of a lifetime.

In the News

• President Koppell penned an op-ed for The Hechinger Report that highlighted the need to focus on all institutions providing pathways to success following the Supreme Court’s decision on Affirmative Action.
• President Koppell also discussed the role of a university president with U.S. News & World Report, and appeared on the EdUp Experience Podcast to talk about how to build a connected campus community.
• Patricia Matthew (English) spoke with NPR on the Hallmark Channel’s recasting of Sense and Sensibility and the network’s highlighting of Jane Austen’s work this month.
• Anna Feldman, Jonathan Howell, Lauren Covey, Larissa Goulart, Libby Barak and Nick Williams (Linguistics) joined the “Lost in Jersey” Podcast to discuss topics including accents, phrasing, second language acquisition, and the use of emojis in different cultures.

Important Updates

• W-2 forms are now available for print and download in Workday. From your Workday home page, under “Applications,” please select the “Pay” icon, then select “My Tax Documents.” Once in My Tax Documents scroll down and you’ll see a table with available tax year W-2 documents that you can view/print. If you do not see this notation, that means your W-2 was delivered by mail. If you were employed by Bloomfield College during January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023, you will receive a separate W-2 for earnings during that time period. Questions? contact Workday Support at wccsupport@montclair.edu or 973-655-5000, Option 3.
• Spring Commencement will take place on Monday, May 13 at Prudential Center in Newark. There will be two ceremonies and graduates will be assigned a ceremony based on their college or school. Information will be updated via the Commencement website and via email in the coming weeks.
• The Executive Board of the University Senate is gathering feedback on making significant changes to the academic calendar. The survey links to a draft calendar to review. Responses will be collected through today, Friday, February 2.
• Do you identify as a first-generation college student? Apply for Tri-Alpha, which recognizes academic achievements, promotes leadership and provides support networks for first-generation college students/faculty/staff/alumni. To qualify, you must meet the definition of a first-generation student at the time you completed your bachelor’s degree. To be part of Tri-Alpha, faculty and staff must be willing to serve as mentors for current first-generation students. The deadline for applications is February 18.
• Red Hawk Pantry is accepting donations of reusable shopping bags through Friday, March 1. Donation bins are located in the Student Center Annex, Room 113; Cole Hall, Center for Community Engagement, Room 348; and the Overlook Corporate Center, 3rd floor, front desk.
• Connect with and hire students at the spring Part-Time Student Job Fair on Friday, March 1. Register for a table and post available positions via Handshake. Questions? Contact the Office for Experiential Education and Career Connections at careerconnect@montclair.edu.

Upcoming Events

• Tune in to WWFM on Monday, February 12, at 8 p.m. for a broadcast of the University Singers’ 2023 performance of Gabriel Faure’s Requiem with the New Jersey Symphony. After the broadcast, you can find the recording on the Symphony’s website.
• Week 5 of the “Be a Strong Student” campaign urges students to “seek academic help.” Register for the online session on Tuesday, February 13, to learn more about the available support for students from representatives of the Center for Academic Success and Tutoring, the Center for Writing Excellence, the Disability Resource Center and Sprague Library.
• Attend Fridays with ITDS on Friday, February 16, as Stefan Robila, professor in the School of Computing, and Kevin Handeli, web services and systems specialist at Sprague Library, discuss generative AI’s impact in the classroom and how it supports the Library in continuing to innovate and benefit the Montclair community.
• Join the Office of Faculty Excellence on Tuesday, February 20 for the Black History Month and Beyond faculty panel, as they share their strategies for making Black history and heritage more than a month and diversify their courses.
• Mark your calendars for Preserving Local History: The Case of the Howe House on Thursday, February 29 at 6 p.m. in Cole Hall, Room 340. This Black History Month event highlights efforts by Montclair advocates to preserve the historic house of James Howe, a formerly enslaved man who was freed in 1817.
• Register for the Innovative Design for Effective Assessments (IDEA) course, a three-week online course intended to provide faculty with a variety of innovative assessment strategies to improve student learning outcomes in online, hybrid or in-person classes. The next session will run from February 12 to March 3.
• Register for Occupational Health’s blood drive on Wednesday, February 14 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The blood drive will take place in Student Center Ballrooms B and C. Donors will receive a free lunch bag

Reminders

• Request the company of our university pupscot, Pebbles at your upcoming events! Let Pebbles be a paw-sitive presence at your event, fostering a sense of well-being and support for everyone involved.
• Take advantage of the State Employee Discount Program with access to discounts in various categories.
• The University has partnered with Ascendium Education Solutions®, a leader in student loan repayment support, to address any questions or concerns regarding federal student loans. Call 833-707-1220 or email successcenter@ascendiumeducation.org for assistance. Also check out the MSU GradReady website for additional resources available to help with managing your financial needs.
• Worried about a student’s well-being? Please fill out a CARE Report form to connect students to mental health support and resources. Faculty and advisors can complete an alert via Navigate for academic concerns.
• EMS has installed hemorrhage/bleeding control kits and Narcan in Automated External Defibrillator (AED) cabinets on campus and is offering training sessions on how to use the hemorrhage control and Narcan kits. If you or your department would like to participate in these training sessions, contact EMS at 973-655-7836 or ems@montclair.edu.
• Did you know the Center for Writing Excellence is open to all University employees? The center provides free, confidential appointments for feedback on all types of writing including professional documents, emails, memos and improving general writing skills. In-person and virtual appointments are available.
• Land on a broken link or dead end on montclair.edu? Report your experience here.
• The new University Calendar is here. Powered by the University’s room booking system, 25Live, all event listings should be entered here. Still need training? Register for online or in-person training.
• The email listservs “For Sale,” “Campus” and “Discuss” are now opt-in only. All members have been unsubscribed and to participate you need to re-subscribe. In addition to changing subscriptions from opt-out to opt-in, please see below for the purpose of each list.
  • Campus: employees may share University events and similar information of broad general interest to faculty and staff.
  • For Sale: employees may post items they want to sell or give away, but this list is strictly for occasional personal use. It may not be used to promote a private business.
  • Discuss: employees may use this forum for the open exchange of views on a wide variety of topics.

Support for Staff and Faculty

• The Employee Assistance Program provides free, confidential support services for employees and their families – including locating resources for substance abuse, mental health and self-help. For more information, view the CONCERN brochure.
• If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988, the nationwide 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Kudos

• To James Anderson (Financial Aid), who was elected to a three-year term with the College Board’s national CSS/Financial Assistance Assembly Council.
• To Rachel Garver (Educational Leadership), who advised and mentored her graduate student Vinicio Quinteros who won the 2024 national AASA Educational Administration Scholarship.
• To Joseph Mazzeo and Hun Gu Do (Natural Science and Mathematics, Bloomfield) and the Facilities and Housekeeping staff of BCMSU for their continual work on the improvements in Bloomfield’s College Hall science labs.
• To Maughn Gregory (Educational Foundations), who was invited as a visiting scholar to the University of the Azores on São Miguel Island, Portugal.
• To Dawn Meza Soufleris (Student Development and Campus Life), who was featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education in an article titled “What to Do About Burnout in Student Affairs?”

Social Media Post of Note

Continuing the Transformation. The new locker rooms in Yogi Berra Stadium were unveiled ahead of the 2024 season, giving the team a permanent home in the facility. The opening of the newly renovated stadium will be on February 20!

Have an item you’d like included in Kudos or Reminders? Want to nominate a staffer for our spotlight? Use this form to tell us. Read more about our people and programs in the University News Center and in back issues of In the Know. And find out what’s happening on campus in the Events Calendar.