On Monday, October 30, 2023, Stockton University President Joe Bertolino held his first State of the University Address as President. His address was initially supposed to be held on October 12, 2023; however, he made the last-minute decision to postpone in order to have an open discussion on the Israel-Hamas war and how it is affecting the Jewish and Palestinian communities here on campus. 

Bertolino discussed a wide range of topics, from increased therapy for Stockton students to more challenging financial issues that the college is facing. He began by welcoming the Board of Trustees and thanking everyone who was in attendance for being there. He then acknowledged how he is historically the first Stockton President to have to go through a transition in 20 years. He went on to state that this has been a transition period in many other ways as well, citing how the University has welcomed 123 new Faculty members and 104 new adjunct professors. Bertolino then highlighted the University’s response to the Israel-Hamas war, citing how he postponed his State of The University Address to discuss the issue affecting so many students and faculty on Campus. He said he felt that it was his “responsibility to pause and bring the community together to talk about what is happening, how we feel about it, and what we would like to do to support one another” and said that it was a “powerful discussion.” Bertolino then spoke about another panel event that was held last week by Stockton’s Multicultural Center, citing the event’s success and the turnout of over 200 people, saying that he was “proud to be a member of this community and proud of the values espoused that day.” He added that “even after the event was over, people stayed to continue to have conversations.”

Moving into the next topic, Bertolino discussed the ongoing challenges that public universities such as Stockton have been facing during the post-COVID era. He spoke to his confidence in what Stockton has done to try and mitigate those challenges citing “Academic Affairs, our esteemed faculty, and our administrators continue to raise the bar across our academic programs, securing grant funding for crucial research and scholarly activity, examine and reimagine majors to better serve the needs of our students, and provide countless experiential learning opportunities for our students.”  He then spoke to the University’s success in working with middle and high schools to ensure that their students can enroll and obtain their degrees here at Stockton, saying “we currently have 1,857 high school students in 49 schools working toward more than 10,000 credits through our dual credit program,” adding that 20% of the students in the past programs have come to Stockton to pursue their degrees. He then stated that the momentum that we can build on with those numbers, in order to increase enrollment, is an issue that the University has been grappling with.

Bertolino went on to address various commendable initiatives and achievements within Stockton University during the current year. These accomplishments include the inception of six novel academic programs, notably including Bachelor of Science programs in Accounting, Business Analytics, Finance, and Esports Management, as well as the Bachelor of Arts program in Digital Studies, and the Master of Science program in Accounting. A total of 52 grants, amounting to approximately $9.4 million, were secured, signifying a notable increase of $2 million from the preceding year. The institution has continued to uphold its commitment to diversity, with 46% of the fall cohort comprising students identifying as belonging to minority or mixed-race backgrounds. Furthermore, the institution has seen promising enrollment of new graduate students, totaling 400.

Another success mentioned was The Division of Student Affairs has diligently worked to enhance student access to healthcare and wellness services. Noteworthy developments include a partnership forged with telehealth and wellness provider UWill, and the expansion of Counseling and Psychological Services to the Atlantic City campus. Additionally, notable physical infrastructure enhancements have materialized with the opening of The  Multicultural Center on the Galloway campus, along with the establishment of a second residential facility, Parkview Hall (formerly referred to as Phase II Housing),  in Atlantic City. The institution’s Development office has shown tremendous success, raising $4.5 million to support scholarships, secure essential equipment, and provide aid to students in need. This effort has been further underscored by securing contributions from over 1,000 first-time donors, marking a notable 20% increase in donor participation. Notably, the ‘Ospreys Give’ campaign not only met but surpassed its target, attracting contributions from 1,100 donors.

Bertolino then moved on to discuss the challenges that Stockton University is being plagued with. He began by saying “Stockton has long-standing relationships with our community of supporters,” Bertolino said. “However, this is not a time to be complacent considering the challenges facing higher education. We must continue to cultivate and build upon these relationships.” The majority of the issues Stockton is currently facing are issues seen at various other institutions around the country, one of the biggest issues is the so-called “enrollment cliff” which is a national trend of fewer students attending colleges and universities, Stockton included. “It is not a myth. The number of high school students graduating in the next five years is on a sharp decline,” he said. 

As per Bertolino’s assertion, Stockton University has strategically positioned itself to address this concern by means of the dual credit and the Goals/Gear Up programs. These initiatives serve to augment the accessibility of post-secondary education for high school students. Additionally, Bertolino underscored an elevated commitment to fostering student retention and the judicious scrutiny of data to ensure the sustained matriculation of students until graduation saying “We have an obligation to every student to have them leave Stockton with a quality education and a degree.” 

As the speech neared its end, Bertolino presented some troubling financial data that the University is working to deal with. The data shows that Stockton will be ending FY 2023 with $10 Million dollars in debt which was offset with available cash and short-term investments. Bertolino then stated that it is forecast that the University will be $12 Million in debt by the end of FY 2024. He acknowledged that while these statistics may appear concerning and shocking, their origin can be attributed to multifaceted factors, with contributors including the economic repercussions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the pervasive influence of inflation, among other things. The institution’s revenue stream, regrettably, has proven insufficient to commensurately offset the surge in operational expenditures, a trend predominantly precipitated by rapidly diminishing enrollment figures. 

“We have already begun taking steps to mitigate this impact and will continue seeking input from budget managers representing each area to address, communicate, and implement measures without compromising our commitment to students and families as well as supporting our faculty and staff,” Bertolino said. He went on to say that we cannot keep making budget cuts to get us out of these problems, but we must look into long-term investment solutions, for example booking new conferences, and events and creating new education programs. He also said, “a strategic and business plan must be developed and implemented for Stockton’s involvement in Atlantic City as an anchor institution.”

Bertolino closed the address with a simple and positive message: “The state of our University is optimistic.” 

The full address can be found here.