William Paterson University Establishes the World’s First Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Sales
An outgrowth of the University’s Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales, the degree program will prepare undergraduates for careers in sales and sales management.
William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J. will become the first higher education institution in the world to offer a bachelor of science degree in professional sales. The degree program has been authorized by the New Jersey Presidents’ Council.
The program is an outgrowth of the University’s Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales, a unique partnership between the private sector and higher education that provides educational and training programs for undergraduate students and sales professionals. (More Information) 
Former New Jersey Governors Discuss the State of New Jersey in Distinguished Lecturer Series
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| Taxes, fiscal responsibility, and other New Jersey issues were under discussion by Brendan Byrne and Thomas Kean, both former state governors, during the Distinguished Lecturer Series held on April 15 in Shea Center. Byrne (right) and Kean (left) enlightened and entertained the audience. |
Senior Send-Off Set for May 16
Graduating seniors, their families, faculty and staff are invited to attend the Senior Send-Off reception on Monday, May 16 at 7:00 p.m. under the tent at 1600 Valley Road. The event offers the campus community an opportunity to bid farewell to our graduates and welcome them to their new position as alumni. The event will feature the announcement of the recipient of the 2005 Outstanding Senior Award and comments by Brandon Clay, president of the senior class.
Hosted by the Young Alumni Chapter of the University’s Alumni Association, the evening will include a light dinner, a champagne toast, and live entertainment. Parking is available at Valley Road. If you plan to attend, please call the Alumni Relations Office at x2175.
Earth Day Observed on Campus
April 22 marked the 30th anniversary of Earth Day, a day set aside to think about ways to protect and improve the environment. On campus, the Department of Environmental Science and Geography sponsored a number of events including a hike up the High Mountain Trail led by Richard Pardi, associate professor of environmental science and geography.
David Stern (far right), assistant professor, environmental science and geography, took some students to Oldham Pond to take water samples. With him are (from left) students Billy Schreyer, Donna Ploch, Josh Boyle and Kristin Attamante, and Marc Zuckerman ’03 of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), who spoke to students earlier in the day, along with a fellow alumnus, Don Hirsch ’88, also with the NJDEP (not pictured).
| 150th
ANNIVERSARY TRIVIA CONTEST
Editor’s Note:
This Trivia Contest is part of the University’s 150th
Anniversary celebration. There will be one question per issue
dealing with the history of the institution. Responses should
be sent to the efocus mailbox at efocus@wpunj.edu.
The first correct response will be declared the winner and
will receive a prize. Only one prize will be awarded per issue.
Answers will be published in the next issue. This month we
are publishing a photo for identification:
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Q:
Currently, the University is expanding the John Victor Machuga Student Center, a project which will increase and improve space for student activities and link the existing building to Wayne Hall by constructing a new ballroom. In which year was the original Student Center dedicated?
a. 1968
b. 1974
c. 1979
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Melda Yildez, secondary and middle school education, is the winner of the April 15 efocus Trivia Contest. She was the first person to respond with the correct answer: Sarah Byrd Askew was the organizer of the New Jersey Public Library Commission. |
The Abram/Kartch/Thomas Jefferson Lecture Series began in 1985 after Abram Kartch, a retired Paterson businessman and Jefferson scholar, provided the University with an endowment to establish and continue the series. It was designed to provoke discussion about the relationship of Jefferson’s words and thoughts to modern society. Each year more than 400 high school students attend the lecture.
This month’s Q & A is with George Robb, professor of history, and chair of the University’s Jefferson Committee, which each year brings the nation’s leading Jefferson scholars to the campus.
Q. Why is it important for today’s high school students to know about the teachings of Thomas Jefferson?
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| George Robb |
Robb: I think it’s important for young people to know about Jefferson because his ideas about democracy continue to influence our government and our society. Jefferson is also a key historical figure because he embodied so many contradictions about America: most famously, he was a defender of liberty who owned slaves. For a long time in American history, we tried to promote an image of our "founding fathers" as supermen. This wasn't a very realistic approach and only encouraged some people to try to knock them off their pedestals. The Jefferson Lecture here at William Paterson doesn't try to promote any particular point of view about Jefferson and his times. We are happy to expose high school students to many different ideas and let them decide for themselves. |
Conference on Terrorism and Democracy Held on Campus
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| Ambassador Javier Ruperez |
An international conference designed to open a discussion about the global effects of terrorism on democracy was held on April 13 and 14 at the University. The event began with a keynote address by Ambassador Javier Ruperez, executive director of the United Nations Counterterrorism Committee on April 13 in the Cheng Library Auditorium. The program was sponsored by William Paterson University’s Department of Political Science, the Master’s Program in Public Policy and International Affairs, the Center for International Studies, and the Department of African, African American and Caribbean Studies.
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| Pictured before the lecture are (from left) Martin Weinstein, professor, political science, Jaime Ortiz, executive director, Center for International Studies, Ruperez, and John Mason, professor, political science. |
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University to Hold Commencement on May 17
—Former Board of Trustees chairs Clarice Jackson and Gwendolyn Taylor and Dave Marash, Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News, to receive honorary degrees
—Robert Devine ‘74, president and CEO of Hartz Mountain Corporation, and Maria Nuccetelli ’63, M.A. ‘77, Wayne superintendent of schools, to receive the President’s Medal
The University will hold its 181st commencement on Tuesday, May 17, 2005. Separate ceremonies will be held for undergraduate and graduate students. The commencement ceremony for undergraduate students will begin at 10:30 a.m., and will be held on Wightman Field; the rain date is May 18. The graduate ceremony will begin at 4:00 p.m. in the Rec Center, rain or shine.
Bachelor’s degrees will be conferred upon 879 undergraduates, all of whom have completed their degree requirements as of May 2005. Master’s degrees will be conferred on 333 students who completed their degree requirements between August 2004 and May 2005.
At the undergraduate ceremony, Dave Marash, an Emmy Award-winning correspondent for the ABC News broadcast “Nightline,” will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Clarice B. Jackson and Gwendolyn P. Taylor, both former chairs of the William Paterson University Board of Trustees, will each receive an honorary doctor of laws degree. Robert Devine, the president and CEO of Hartz Mountain Corporation and a 1974 graduate of William Paterson, will receive the President’s Medal.
President Arnold Speert will address the graduating class along with Andrew Monaco, a graduating senior and honors student. Monaco will receive a bachelor of arts degree in French, summa cum laude.
At the graduate ceremony, Maria Nuccetelli ’63, M.A. ’77, the superintendent of schools for the Wayne School District, will receive a President’s Medal. President Speert will address the graduates, along with Ian Bouie, president of the Graduate Student Organization at William Paterson.
Alumni from the class of 1955, who graduated when William Paterson was called New Jersey State Teachers College at Paterson, will be present at the morning ceremony and attend a 50th reunion luncheon sponsored by the Alumni Relations Office. The Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Chapter will host a Senior Send-Off reception on Monday, May 16 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the University’s 1600 Valley Road building.
University Continues Sesquicentennial Celebration With Charter Day Reception
More than 100 faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the University attended the special Charter Day Reception at the Paterson Museum on April 20 to commemorate the institution’s founding in 1855 in Paterson as the Paterson Normal School.
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| Leslie Agard-Jones, College of Education, Gwen Pruitt, Henry Pruitt, University Board of Trustees, and Rodney Cauthen ’97, alumni relations. |
“One hundred fifty years ago, three or four people gathered in Paterson to create an institution to train teachers for the children of the city’s millworkers. They could not have imagined its growth into a university,” said President Arnold Speert. “We are fortunate that we began in this city, and that we continue to have a connection to Paterson through many of our programs and initiatives.”
During the event, Henry Williams II, a Paterson businessman, presented Speert with a framed portrait of his father, Henry A. Williams, a former New Jersey assemblyman, state senator, and editor and publisher of the Paterson Morning Call, who was involved in drafting the legislation that transformed the institution from Paterson Normal School, an entity controlled by the city, to the New Jersey State Normal School at Paterson. Sen. Williams was also co-chair of a committee in the 1940s that looked at a building program for the college and the eventual purchase of the Hobart estate, where the University has been located since 1951. The portrait will be displayed in Hobart Manor.
The evening also featured the announcement of the publication of William Paterson University, a 128-page pictorial history of the institution. The book, which features more than 200 photos from the University’s Archive, was written by Vincent Parrillo, professor of sociology and a member of the University community since 1966. The book is available for sale online through national outlets such as Amazon.com and in various local outlets.
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William Paterson University, a 128-page pictorial history of the institution |
In addition to enjoying the museum’s regular exhibits, which focus on the history of Paterson, guests were able to view two exhibits focused on the University: “Chronologies and Connections,” an exhibit of images and artifacts chronicling the evolution of William Paterson University which was curated by Angela DeLaura, associate professor of art, and a University timeline that features key dates in William Paterson history, which was created by the University Archive Committee in recognition of the 150th anniversary.
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| Vincent Parrillo, sociology, Diane Haines, North Jersey Newspapers, and Edward Smyk, Passaic County historian. |
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| Jack DeStefano ‘87, Paterson Museum, and Arnold Speert, president. |
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| President Arnold Speert with Henry A. Williams II, and the portrait of Senator Henry A. Williams. |
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Marketing Campaign Wins Awards
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| A billboard from the "Live it. Learn it." campaign. |
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| One of a series of posters created for the campus-wide Alcohol Social Norms Committee |
The work produced by the Department of Marketing and Public Relations has been recognized again this year by graphics and advertising professionals throughout the state. The video produced (with Little Apple Films of Jersey City) for Institutional Advancement in support of the fundraising campaign, "Affecting Lives...Changing Worlds," and the first series of posters created for the campus-wide Alcohol Social Norms Committee were both awarded Certificates of Excellence by the Art Directors Club of New Jersey. The "Live it. Learn it." image/recruitment campaign (with Sawtooth Group of Woodbridge) has been nominated for awards by the New Jersey Ad Club for both the print campaign and the television commercial.
William Paterson University Hosts 25th Annual National History Day for New Jersey Students
A fun-filled, educational afternoon of learning about the use of communication within history, will be presented by students in grades six through 12 from New Jersey public and private schools as they participate in this year’s New Jersey National History Day competition on Saturday, May 7 at William Paterson University in Wayne. (More Information)
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Softball’s Sisca Sets Single-Season Home Run Record
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| Liz Sisca |
With one compact swing on April 25, sophomore Liz Sisca contributed another piece of Pioneer softball history. Her first-inning home run against The College of New Jersey gave her 11 for her career, surpassing the previous single-season record of 10 set by Morgan Dunlap in 2001.
“I was definitely pushing for it,” said Sisca, William Paterson’s all-time career home run leader with 18 in just 71 games. “I’m trying to make a name for myself. I came out this year thinking I wanted to play well and accomplish a lot of things. It’s one thing I can put down on my list as far as something I accomplished.” (More Information)
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Women’s Softball Team Goes After Third NJAC Conference Title
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| Diana Schraer |
The No. 14-ranked Pioneers (30-8-1, 10-5-1 NJAC) earned the No. 2 seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament and will oppose No. 3-seeded Ramapo in the first round Thursday, May 5, at 3:30 p.m. at Rutgers-Camden. Freshman right-hander Diana Schraer (13-1, 0.55 ERA), named NJAC Pitcher of the Week on May 2, will try to help the Pioneers win their third conference title, and second in three years.
Baseball Wrap-up
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| Dan Limone |
Freshman shortstop Dan Limone (.290, 9 SB) will be one of the young players to watch next season for the Pioneers (11-20, 3-13), as he hit .600 (6-for-10) in his final three games. Sophomore outfielder Brian Gelalia (.305, 20 RBI, 20 BB) is another key part of the team’s foundation. Meanwhile, catcher Anthony Mazzo (.347, 27 R, 9 HR, 35 RBI, .693 slugging percentage), is ranked among the Division III Top 30 in home runs per game and slugging percentage. .
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