On March 3, 2023, Dr. Joseph “President Joe” Bertolino was named the sixth president of Stockton University, returning to his home state after serving as president of Southern Connecticut State University. With more students struggling with the University’s ever-growing cost of attendance, and continued instability within Stockton’s Office of the Provost with the resignation of Dr. Leamor Kahanov in the Spring 2023 semester, Bertolino appears to have his work cut out for him at Stockton. To gain further insight into Bertolino’s plans for the University, an Argo reporter met with him on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. Among the topics discussed in the interview were the current search for Stockton’s new provost, the racial controversy surrounding Bertolino’s appointment as president, and the authenticity of the University’s commitment to social justice.

When asked about the reported “whirlwind of changes” that have occurred on campus in the 60 days since his arrival, Bertolino said that the biggest changes he is working to implement concern Stockton’s leadership style. He claimed to be working closely with Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Dr. Terricita Sass—who he described as the “yin to [his] yang”—to create a more community-based, collaborative leadership style at Stockton University that focuses on what he described as “cure personnelis, which is the care for the whole individual.”

Bertolino had also set his sights on the Office of Academic Affairs—specifically, the ongoing search for a new provost. He claimed that he intends to have the University “recommit to Academic Affairs…[which] has struggled over the course of the last decade.” He remarked on the rapid rate at which Stockton has lost its provosts in the past few years, stating that “that just can’t happen if we are to maintain a high-quality education.” He also stated that he has hired an independent search firm to assist Stockton’s provost search team in finding a “large, diverse pool of qualified candidates.”

“We need to provide that area [the provost’s position] with stability,” said Bertolino. “So I’ve been working very closely with the faculty…and staff to ensure that we have a strong, comprehensive [and] diverse search… I think the biggest challenge has been our administrative structure. I would contend that the provost has to be the first among equals. I would like to see the provost’s position ultimately elevated, and [the faculty has] developed a new, comprehensive job description. My job is to get resources for this person, let them lead the academic arm of the institution, and get out of their way.”

Aside from the provost search, Bertolino would like to see a “re-commitment to the academic enterprise in the form of new opportunities for programs, a stronger grant portfolio, and stronger undergraduate research portfolio,” along with a clearer focus on the direction the University is taking with its Atlantic City campus. “I do believe that we’ve built this wonderful facility, but I’m not convinced that we have thought through entirely what we want to do with it,” he said. “And in addition to that, I think you will see a…re-commitment to what we’re doing at the Galloway campus…I’m not sure that our focus has been as balanced as it now needs to be.”

When asked about Stockton’s 25% increase in its cost of attendance in the past decade—with a tuition increase rate that exceeds the national average—and how he plans to keep the University affordable for working-class students, Bertolino said that “the truth of the matter is, we’re not going to be in a position where the cost is going to go down. The question is, when the cost goes up, how do you pay for it…in a way that doesn’t add more of a burden to our students?” He then claimed that the University will need to build up its philanthropic base, engage in more public and private partnerships, increase its enrollment and student retention, and leverage its assets like the Atlantic City campus in order to combat the issue. Bertolino also said that a lack of funding from the state contributes to funding issues within the University, stating “I would also argue that the state bears some responsibility. We are a public entity… [and] less than twenty percent of our budget—less than twenty percent of our budget—is actually an appropriation from the state…which means that Joe and the team here need to find the other 83 percent.”

“I grew up in South Jersey. I came from a working-class family. My parents worked so hard to put my sister and me through school, and we both had jobs. So, I am older, but I can still relate. I don’t want students to have to work so hard to stay [in school]. I want them to work hard in the classroom and in their experience. So, I’m going to pound the pavement,” said Bertolino.

He did not, however, touch upon the potential impact that expenditures like rising administrative salaries may have on the University’s budgeting. According to a 2016 article by NJ Spotlight News, Stockton University’s president is within the top 10 most highly-compensated public officials in the state, which includes a “$320,000 salary plus performance bonuses, deferred compensation, housing allowance, and car.” Former President Kesselman’s last reported salary was a whopping $414,750 in 2022.

Bertolino discussed Stockton University’s relationship with social justice for the remainder of the interview, beginning by addressing the University’s decision to appoint the only white candidate as its president out of an entirely male panel of finalists. “I will confess that I was surprised—appreciative, but surprised—by where things landed, because I think…that we have a responsibility as an institution to ensure that those who lead and work in the classrooms here mirror the students they serve. [People would say,] ‘but Joe, you’re gay!’ I know. And I appreciate that level of diversity. But I’m still a white man with privilege. I am fully cognizant of that fact. But now it’s my responsibility…to ensure that we’re creating a more inclusive environment,” he said.

“My bullhorn, if you will, in Connecticut was that Southern Connecticut State University aspires to be the social justice university of the state community. And boy, that was not easy to do…[and] I will face a challenge here that I haven’t faced as much in other places, simply because of where we are located and the politics of this region. I often remind folks that I need folks to exercise grace and be patient,” said Bertolino. “I will also share with you that I am committed to creating a whole separate D.E.I. [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] division. I don’t know why we don’t have one here. I expect to see pushback there. I don’t care. We’re going to do that.”

As part of Bertolino’s work in the field of social justice, Stockton may also potentially see reforms implemented concerning its Women’s Gender and Sexuality Center and academic programs, given that a Southern News article published last February states that Bertolino has worked closely with Yi-Chun Lin, the Chair and Professor of Women’s and Gender studies at SCSU during his time as president there. When asked if he plans to work closely with Stockton’s WGS program as well, he replied “at some point, I expect the folks from Women’s and Gender Studies to send me an invitation to come and visit with them, which I will do.” The University has come under particular scrutiny in its approach to Women’s Studies within the past year, following the controversy surrounding the fact that leadership within the WGSC deemed known domestic abuser Ray Rice’s proposed visit to campus appropriate—a decision that prompted a faculty opposition shortly afterward.

But presidential duties aside, what is there to know about Stockton’s newest president? Junior literature major Gabrielle Shockley, an R.A. for the University, claims that Bertolino confided in her and her peers that his favorite form of potato is “baked. Plain. A little bit of salt. No butter. Maybe a little sour scream.” He also revealed to an Argo reporter that his favorite Broadway musical is Come From Away and that he is “partial” to Dear Evan Hansen, a signed poster of which he keeps displayed in his office alongside a collection of things his students have given him since his first teaching job at the age of 22.

Oh, and he plays the accordion. A performance of which, he claims, Stockton “just might” see in the foreseeable future.