On Wednesday, September 11, the university’s Board of Trustees held their first meeting for the semester. The meeting was open to the public and held both in person in the Board of Trustees room and broadcasted via Zoom. The meeting started with a moment of silence to commemorate the events of September 11, 2001.

Afterwards, the reading of the committee reports commenced. Trustee Nelida Valentin thanked all the committee members for their commitment and time to the community. She spoke positively of the faculty conference held on Tuesday, September 3, inviting faculty and the community to “keep in mind why we’re here” as she emphasized the need to uphold Stockton’s “students first” motto. Also, it was announced that financial sustainability is the university’s focus for this year.

This was followed by President Joe Bertolino’s “President’s Report.” He thanked the prep teams for both Welcome Week and Spirit Day respectively, for their hard work in making those events successful. Discover Stockton Day is approaching on October 6, as well as President Bertolino’s State of the University address on October 17. He also had the pleasure of swearing in Dr. Tracy Stuart as Chief of Police, this comes after years of dedication to the force, which she joined in 2007. Bertolino then announced plans for continued expansion of the Atlantic City campus, and other big events coming up in the community include Constitution Day, programming for Hispanic Heritage Month, and University Weekend.

President Bertolino addressed the concerns of being unsafe versus being uncomfortable on campus. He assured the community that rumors are to be taken very seriously, but that there is a difference between being unsafe and feeling uncomfortable. He once again assured that the university works hard to ensure safety and will work with those who feel uncomfortable to find the root of the issue.

Other committees also spoke on academic affairs, auditing, finances, and student success. Some of the highlights of these committees were Provost and Vice President Academic Affairs, Dr. Palladino, speaking on his vision for Stockton’s academic future, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. William Latham’s speech on the hard work going on at student affairs to improve and “build a dynamic student experience,” as well as the expansion of the ‘Live, Work, Learn’ program which led to an increase in credits earned over the summer.

The next Board of Trustees meeting is set for December 4, 2024. For more information about this past meeting, click here to view the meeting minutes.