The Stockton Board of Trustees met for the second and final time of the fall semester on December 4, 2024 in the Galloway Campus Center’s Event Room. Chair of the Board, Nelida Valentin, called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m, issuing in a discussion of university changes ranging from the Summer 2025 tuition discounts to the ever approaching enrollment cliff.

Prior to covering new business, Valentin and President Joe Bertolino dedicated time to Stanley Ellis, who Trustee Michelle Lenzmeier Keates referred to as the Board’s “consummate trustee.” Ellis served the Trustees for nearly 20 years, including a two year stint as Chairman from 2010-2012. He was recognized for his “outstanding leadership, service, commitment, and other contributions to the Stockton University community and Board of Trustees,” and on receiving his plaque of honor, Ellis thanked the community, stating that “it was an honor to be here, and something [he] will always cherish.”

Bertolino then delivered his “President’s Report,” in which he warmly reflected on the busy semester and various events that took place. He reminisced on the 2000 attendees at Discover Stockton Day before switching to New Jersey Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez’s inspirational story of success that was told at Latino Visitation Day. First Generation Week was yet another triumph celebrated by Bertolino, as was his State of the University address that took place on November 12. Chair Valentin and Trustee Jose Lozano were also shouted out, as the former was recognized at the Executive Women of New Jersey Salute and Policy Makers Gala in October and the latter a 2024 Champion of C-Suite by ROI-NJ.

Rounding out Bertolino’s praise was the Honors College’s Nobel Peace Prize designation, as Stockton was one of 16 schools in the world to be rewarded, and the heroic story of Cooper Lysinger, a freshman Nursing major who, while surfing, saved the lives of fisherman off the shores of Avalon. “The Osprey spirit is all around, and we take great pride with our students and our faculty and staff for ensuring that Stockton continues to be a bigger, better, wonderful place and wonderful community of opportunity,” concluded the President before turning the meeting over to the committee reports.

Dr. Sonia Gonsalves delivered the Academic Affairs report, where the first order of business was to accept the following academic calendars: Summer 2025, Fall 2025 and 2026, Winter 2026, and Spring 2026 and 2027. After unanimous approval, the Board was updated on partnerships available for employees of Atlantic County Institute of Technology to enroll in the Masters of Education program, as well as the new programs working in tandem with Ocean County College: a 3+1 program for business students and 2+2 program for social work.

Stockton is also having their inaugural Winter J-term beginning in January, a program that Gonsalvez said gives students “a chance to catch up, get ahead, [and] lighten the spring load.” Enrollment for this term is at 94% seat capacity for the 4-week courses and 86% for the 2-week courses.

This summer, the Live, Work, Learn program will also be offered to full-time graduate students as well as community college students. Gonsalves noted how faculty-led study abroad experiences have also gained popularity and interest within the Stockton community, then giving the floor to Trustee Kristi Hanselmann of Student Success.

Working with Interim Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. William Latham, Hanselmann reported that Ospreys Navigate will continue to serve the Stockton community, as there are now 30 faculty members contributing to the support initiative. From the desk of Dr. Steven Radwanski came a timeline update to the Residential Life Strategic Plan, as having begun in October of 2024, the targeted completion date is March of 2025. “The plan aims to guide the university to proactively tackle challenges, streamline operations, and foster a dynamic, supportive living environment,” said Hanselmann. She concluded her report by saying that Stockton remains focused on their efforts of recruitment and retention and acknowledging the three winners of the Board of Trustees Fellowship for Distinguished Students award: Nicole Brown, Ashley Truesdell, and Corinne Weisenberger.

Trustee Timothy Lowry of the Finance Committee then delivered four resolutions in need of Board approval. First was the 20% tuition discount for Summer 2025 courses for any undergraduate living on campus, bringing the in-state charge from $497 to $398 and the out-of-state charge from $739 to $584. Next was the managerial cost of living increase of 4%, followed by the bid waiver contracts for Fiscal Years 2025 and 2026. These contracts include Team First Solutions LLC, which was a $160,000 grant-funded training series for the Child Welfare and Education Institute, and a $0 waiver with Bank of America for the continued use of P Card services. The last resolution was an increase in the bid waiver contract to National Library Relocations, the amount being $146,770 for additional library units. All resolutions were aptly approved.

Trustee Lozano on behalf of the Audit committee revealed that Stockton’s financial statements will be available in early December. He also confirmed for the Building and Grounds committee that the Library Commons renovation project is on track to be completed in Fall of 2026, and that Deferred Maintenance plans, including Galloway’s Housing 1, have entered the stages of concept planning.

Trustee Keates of the Investment committee relayed Stockton’s investment performance, disclosing that as of September 30, Stockton’s total portfolio was $124,449,049 with the gain on investments of $5,544,312. Advisors Wells Fargo and Windmark saw gain returns of 4.49 and 4.72 respectively, and both reported that asset allocations are following suit with the university’s investment policy statement. Equity and Fixed Income markets, on the other hand, suffered from “uncertainty due to the upcoming U.S. Presidential election, concerns over persistent inflation, as well as diminishing expectations on the extent of federal reserve rate cuts.”

At the conclusion of all committee reports, the Mission Moment of the evening was delivered by Student Trustee Juan Chaparro, who according to Bertolino is “living the Stockton mission.” Chaparro, a Marine science senior, is a passionate member of the Stockton community, serving as President of Los Latinos Unidos and Student Senator to name a couple titles from his long, impressive resume.

Growing up in Venezuela, Chaparro reflected on his longing to have college experience much like the movies he watched as a kid, but with his studies beginning in 2021 during the pandemic, his goals were thwarted. Chaparro noted how he would conduct interviews with students during this time, asking them what they believed was the “Stockton experience,” and the answers he received were uncertain, products of the wavering times. However, now in a post-Covid world with new leadership, Chaparro “can confidently say that the students are happy and excited to, for once, finally know who our senior leadership is.” He praised Bertolino for his efforts in connecting with students, from the Ice Cream socials to spontaneous sightings on campus, and Chaparro let the meeting know just how proud he was to be an Osprey.

Following Chaparro and concluding the meeting was a presentation from the Education Advisory Board (EAB) on their approach to higher education: “Reckoning with Relevance.” Their message was in response to the “enrollment cliff,” or, as speaker Vashae Dixon put it, the country’s “anti-higher education echo chamber.”

Within the lecture, Dixon discussed the negative college discourse, including the reasons why people are hesitant to enroll. Most prominent is a fear of money wasted on a “useless degree,” but Dixon described these fears as potentially being a result of culture war rather than merit, rooted in polarized misconceptions about universities instead of fact.

The enrollment cliff is set to hit in January 2025, and EAB’s data concluded that from 2022 to 2035, there will be continued decreases in attendance as a result. Simply put, drop in attendance is inevitable, as the birth rates simply cannot supply the breadth of incoming students that universities all over, not just Stockton, are comfortable with. However, Stockton remains confident, sticking by the plan outlined in President Bertolino’s September interview, as well as his university address.

The next Board meeting will be on March 4, and to learn more about the Trustees and their role on campus, visit the Stockton website.