The contract between the New Jersey Public Broadcasting and the University will be submitted to the Legislature for their review. The Legislature, which has stressed its desire and strong support for public television to continue in New Jersey, has 15 days to review the contract.

The agreement is for five years with two five-year extensions. Ģ����Ƶ is responsible for programming the stations and has committed to providing at least six hours of New Jersey-centric programming a week, including a weekday nightly news cast and other public affairs programming, live broadcasts of the Governor’s State of the State address, the Governor’s Budget Message, and live coverage of New Jersey elections.

The new contract follows months of uncertainty over the future of NJ PBS and effectively ensures that public television will thrive in New Jersey for the long-term. Cuts to federal funding had put the future in doubt, however Governor Mikie Sherrill’s commitment to transparency makes public broadcasting an integral part of the state’s media landscape.

“Public broadcasting is a vital public service that ensures New Jersey families have access to trusted news, educational programming, and information about their communities. At a time when local journalism faces growing challenges, today’s action keeps this essential service alive in New Jersey,” said Governor Sherrill. “I’m excited that Ģ����Ƶ has been selected to lead the next chapter of public broadcasting in New Jersey. With its expertise in journalism and public media, strong community partnerships, and commitment to innovation, Ģ����Ƶ is uniquely positioned to expand local storytelling and help build a strong, sustainable future for public media across our state.”

“Public broadcasting is a critical pillar of New Jersey media, ensuring all residents – particularly those in underserved areas – have access to quality educational and community-focused content,” said State Treasurer Aaron Binder. “Given the ever-evolving nature of modern media, and recent devasting funding cuts at the federal level, protecting and supporting public broadcasting has never been more important. Treasury was pleased to play a role in ushering in the next chapter of public media in New Jersey, and we look forward to seeing this vital institution grow for many years to come.”

“New Jersey has one of the most extraordinary media landscapes in the country, and we will fully leverage and highlight the breadth of voices and storytellers across the state,” said Dr. Keith Strudler, Dean of Ģ����Ƶ’s College of Communication and Media. “This includes universities across New Jersey, countless news organizations, cultural and arts centers, and sports leagues and organizations. We look forward to building a media ecosystem that resembles and is accountable to the people of New Jersey, one that provides unique educational and workforce development opportunities to our state’s future leaders and media creators. We are grateful for the opportunity to ensure New Jersey’s public media is truly the public’s media.”

“New Jersey’s public television stations exist to serve every resident of this state, and this selection reflects our commitment to ensuring that mission continues on a sustainable, long-term foundation,” said Rick Williams, Executive Director of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority. “Ģ����Ƶ brings broadcast-ready infrastructure, deep community ties, and a demonstrated commitment to New Jersey journalism. We look forward to working with the University and the Legislature as this transition moves forward.”

In this role, Ģ����Ƶ plans to reimagine public media and expand the value public broadcasting can provide to New Jersey residents. Central to that mission is building a network that fully represents New Jersey, drawing on the state’s 300-plus news organizations, its colleges and universities, and its diverse communities to create and inform programming made stronger through collaboration and shared expertise. In addition to a robust broadcast presence with daily newscast and discussion programming, NJ PBS will focus significant efforts on digital and social media content as well as in-person events and public engagement, meeting New Jersey residents where and how they consume information.

Ģ����Ƶ’s proposal leverages existing university assets to create an operational budget that recognizes the current fiscal environment for public media. This includes $1.2 million annually of in-kind contributions from the University, including studio access, engineering expertise, IT infrastructure, human resources, finance, legal, and facilities management. It also includes teaching and internship opportunities for students, helping to train future media professionals while also infusing a dynamic perspective into station programming.

The station will be housed in Ģ����Ƶ’s College of Communication and Media, one of the nation’s leading academic hubs for media education and innovation. The College has a world-class production facility, complete with professional broadcast studios and film stages, multiple control rooms, a multimedia newsroom, and engineering infrastructure built for network-level production. Faculty and staff bring extensive professional experience in the New Jersey and national media landscapes, and the College has been nationally recognized for its work while preparing the next generation of New Jersey media professionals.

The Center for Cooperative Media, housed within Ģ����Ƶ’s College of Communication and Media, will help build the backbone of NJ PBS’s statewide journalism model. The Center’s longstanding relationships with hundreds of New Jersey news organizations provide NJ PBS with an existing statewide journalism ecosystem capable of supporting collaborative reporting and community-informed storytelling across all regions of the state. Ģ����Ƶ’s operation of NJ PBS will include robust content partnerships across the state, including collaborative agreements with a range of other New Jersey colleges and universities as well as civic, arts, and news organizations, ensuring network content reflects the diversity and talents of New Jersey’s residents and communities.

Ģ����Ƶ plans to produce a daily newscast and discussion program, a weekly public affairs roundtable, and sports coverage, including a formal partnership with the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The University has also committed to a code of journalism ethics, an independent ethics committee with external appointments, and a Community Advisory Board, with additional public accountability in being subject to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act as a public university.

More than 20 full-time employees will initially operate NJ PBS, including three reporters and a production team of 11. Students will also participate through internships and supervised experiential learning opportunities. Employment opportunities with NJ PBS will be posted .

For more information/media contact:

Ģ����Ƶ: Keith Green, Director of Communications and Strategic Operations, College of Communication and Media. greenk@montclair.edu, 973-655-3701.

New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority: Danielle Currie, Deputy Director of Communications Danielle.Currie@treas.nj.gov

###

About the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority: The New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority (NJPBA) is a State authority holding four FCC noncommercial educational television licenses, collectively branded as NJ PBS. The Authority’s stations, WNJS, WNJN, WNJT, and WNJB, serve all regions of New Jersey with public media programming. The NJPBA operates in, but not of, the New Jersey Department of the Treasury under the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority Act of 1968, as amended by the 2010 New Jersey Public Broadcasting System Transfer Act. For more information, visit https://www.nj.gov/treasury/njpba/.

About Ģ����Ƶ: Building on a distinguished history dating back to 1908, Ģ����Ƶ has evolved from an institution that was a recognized leader in teacher education to an R2 research institution ranked as one of the 100 best public doctoral universities in the nation. The University serves 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students with more than 300 doctoral, master’s and baccalaureate programs provided by 13 colleges and schools. Situated on a beautiful 252-acre campus just 12 miles from New York City, Ģ����Ƶ delivers the instructional and research resources of a large public university while retaining the supportive and personalized academic environment that provides a feeling of community more typical of smaller institutions.

About Ģ����Ƶ’s College of Communication and Media: The College of Communication and Media (CCOM) offers a range of dynamic programs to a talented and diverse student population of approximately 2,000. Offering degrees in advertising, animation and visual effects, communication and media studies, film and television, journalism and digital media, social media and public relations, sports communication and an online, asynchronous MA devoted to strategic communication and media, the College prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. Founded in 2012 and housed in world-class, state-of-the-art facilities just 12 miles from New York City, the College is the only program in the country that offers the following opportunities for students: a radio station (WMSC), newspaper (The Montclarion), strategic communications agency (Hawk Communications), sports network (Red Hawk Sports Network) streaming platform (Hawk+), digital newsroom (News Lab) and studio, and a social media listening center (Joetta DiBella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication). The College also has a Student Success team, including dedicated Career Services and Advising professionals who prepare students for the internship and job search process. Student projects and programs have recently received national recognition from PRSSA’s Bateman Competition, an Edward R. Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and College Television Awards (“Student Emmy” awards) from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The College is also home to the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism and media. Through nearly $10M in grants awarded over the last decade, the Center focuses on collaboration in journalism, media equity, media coaching and training, civic science and research. The Center is also home to the NJ Civic Information Consortium, the largest funder of media and journalism in New Jersey, granting more than $10M over the last five years to support independent local media, journalism and training initiatives.

Ģ����Ƶ received two top-100 rankings – including No. 7 in the world in a critical research metric – in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 “Best Global Universities” rankings, which highlight 2,000 institutions worldwide.

The U.S. News rankings showcase the University’s growing research footprint and global impact. Ģ����Ƶ ranks No. 7 in the world in “Normalized Citation Impact” (the average number of times a research paper is cited in other works – a key metric of research impact) and No. 93 in the percentage of papers that are among the top 1% cited in their respective fields. Overall, the University rose 159 spots to No. 1,008 in the 2022 rankings.

Ģ����Ƶ has also been ranked No. 90 in the nation among more than 1,500 institutions in Washington Monthly’s 2022 “College Guide and Rankings,” which highlights institutions displaying excellence in social mobility, research, and community and national service. The University is one of just four New Jersey public institutions to crack the Top 100 in the National University rankings.

Each year, the award honors a professional who has made an impact in the field of international education during the first five years in their area of work. Wilkenfeld was nominated by her peers in the NAFSA Region X chapter (New York and New Jersey).

Wilkenfeld earned a master’s degree in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Higher Education from Ģ����Ƶ State, and has presented at various regional and national conferences, including NACADA (National Academic Advising Association) and NODA (Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education). She also actively volunteers locally within the international education community, serving as the conference planner for NAFSA Region X.

“From welcoming international students on their very first day at orientation to seeing them graduate, being a part of this incredible journey is why this isn’t just a profession, it’s a passion,” says Wilkenfeld. “This award is a testament to the continuous support I have from the University, my supervisors and colleagues, the NAFSA community, and my family, all of whom I thank.”

NAFSA is the largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange. Its mission focuses on advancing international higher education and fostering an understanding among people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

“The NAFSA Rising Star Young Leader award identifies newer professionals who will influence the future of international education,” said Esther Brimmer, NAFSA executive director and CEO.�� “Through the skills, talent and leadership she has shown in volunteer roles with NAFSA Region X in New York and New Jersey, Dawn Wilkenfeld has demonstrated a commitment to internationalization and an ingenuity of thought that has the potential for having substantial and lasting influence upon international education. Our association is eager to encourage Dawn as she continues to grow as an international educator and we believe that her contributions have only just begun.”

Ģ����Ƶ is home to 21,000 students, hundreds of whom are international. The Office of Global Engagement (OGE) offers affordable tuition and scholarships to its international students, as well as support on immigration questions for its F-1 and J-1 students.

“This award is a recognition of Dawn’s professional contribution to the field of international education,” says Cristiana Kunyczka, assistant vice president of the Office of Global Engagement. “Her commitment to international students at Ģ����Ƶ State is commendable. She has demonstrated that she has not only the skills but the passion to advance our office’s mission to support international students. We are so proud of her for having received this award and look forward to the many contributions she will make.”

To learn more about Ģ����Ƶ’s programs for international students, visit montclair.edu/global.

On Thursday, February 21, Wilson will visit the Feliciano School of Business at Ģ����Ƶ to deliver a presentation on advancing the importance of increasing Hispanic representation in corporate America. His presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

“I want our Hispanic students to see that who they are is an asset, that they are a valuable resource, that they have a space at the table and that their contributions are needed,” says event organizer, assistant vice president for Hispanic Serving Initiatives and professor of Family Science and Human Development Katia Paz Goldfarb. “I am sure that Wilson’s story will resonate with all of our students.”

A Dominican American who was raised in Bergen County, New Jersey, Wilson graduated from Ohio State University in 1994 with a degree in economics. As a college student, he worked for free in a brokerage firm mailroom to get his foot in the door. He was eventually named Forbes #1Specialty Retail Analyst in 2006.

Since its founding in 1986, HACR has become one of the nation’s most influential advocacy organizations, representing 12 national Hispanic organizations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Wilson draws on more than two decades of corporate finance and Wall Street equity research experience to direct HACR research initiatives, as well as an array of programs and events designed to support a growing network of Hispanic professionals and corporate partners.

Wilson currently serves and supports the broader Hispanic community through board memberships with noted minority advocacy groups, such as Dominicans on Wall Street; LatinoJustice PRLDEF; and UnidosUS. He is the former national president of the Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR); former vice chairman of the board of trustees for Bergen Community College; a past trustee ambassador to the New Jersey Council of County Colleges; a former member of the Association of Community College Trustees’ (ACCT) National Board of Directors; and a Gold Life Member of the NAACP.

Appointed in 2009 by President Barack Obama to the National Museum of the American Latino Study Commission that proposed construction of a new Smithsonian Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Wilson continues to lead advocacy efforts at sustaining Congressional support for the museum’s completion as Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino board chair.

“Events like this – and our event hosting New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy at the Latina Equal Pay Day in November – support the fact that Hispanics are an integral and vital component of American Society,” says Goldfarb. “It also supports the University’s commitment as a U.S. Department of Education designated Hispanic-Serving Institution to preparing the bilingual workforce of the future.”

Learn more: /calendar/view-event.php?id=52207

Barry Devone, community engagement officer for the Orange Public School District states: “Orange Community Schools is delighted to expand its partnership with Ģ����Ƶ. The expansion of adult course offerings enhances our ability to provide cradle-to-career education opportunities for the City of Orange Township and surrounding communities.”

Courses and programs that have been selected will help learners acquire new skills to support them in enhancing current employment positions or in obtaining higher-level professional opportunities. Some of the courses that will be offered for the spring term include Spanish for Health and Social Services Professionals, Grant Writing, Cybersecurity, Project Management, and Excel for Business Analytics.

“We have a rather extensive catalog of offerings that are designed to help individuals establish long-term career paths,” says CAPE Executive Director Peter McAliney. “We worked together with the leadership of the OCSI to select courses and programs we felt would align with the needs of the community it serves and augment the programs they are already offering.”

“I am very excited about the budding partnership between CAPE and the Orange Adult School,” explains Bryan Murdock, director of the Center for Community Engagement at Ģ����Ƶ. “My role in the OCS is to engage University resources into the Orange Community Schools so that Orange residents can benefit from all the wonderful opportunities the University makes available to local communities. Providing continuing��education courses through the Adult School will open up new and exciting educational and economic opportunities that heretofore were not easily available to Orange residents.”

Among those walking the gala’s red carpet at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, was Ģ����Ƶ Police Chief and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) President Paul Cell. Representing the IACP, he spoke on the red carpet about his firsthand knowledge of Lee’s dedicated support of law enforcement.

“I worked as a law enforcement liaison for Stan’s Hands of Respect initiative, which he created to bring community members and law enforcement together to help create safe communities and promote a nationwide culture of respect,” says Cell. Together with Lee, he helped to promote the initiative at Comic Cons and on a number of nationally broadcast appearances. Cell is no stranger to red carpets, having attended the red-carpet premiere of Spider-Man with Lee and served as a talent escort for Grammy Award and daytime Emmy Award ceremonies.

“I was honored to be able to pay my respects to Stan Lee one more time, present a posthumous award and acknowledge all the contributions he had made to society,” says Cell. “Through his comics, he always delivered a message of hope that right will always prevail, as long as you do the right thing. It doesn’t matter who you are – anyone can help people and be a hero.”

Cell, who admits that Captain America is his favorite superhero, helped coordinate the tribute, which was produced by Legion M. Agents of Mayhem and Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment and presented by filmmaker Kevin Smith & Friends. In addition to the red carpet walk and presentations attended by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, public theater forecourt activities included an exhibit of Lee memorabilia, art by artist Rob Prior, a musical performance and more.

The evening’s private tribute continued in the TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre, where Smith moderated conversations about Lee’s life, work and legacy. Celebrity speakers included actors Mark Hamill and Vincent D’Onofrio, as well as The Dark Knight producer Michael Uslan and X-Men producer Tom DeSanto.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Hero Initiative, a federally chartered not-for-profit dedicated to providing a financial safety net for comic book creators in need.

For Cell, Lee will be remembered as someone who really cared about people. “He had a true concern for people and the safety of our communities,” Cell says. “His message was clear: any person could be a hero, no cape or costume needed.”

Supported by Succeed2gether, Ģ����Ƶ, Ģ����Ƶ Public Library, Watchung Booksellers, Ģ����Ƶ Art Museum and many other local sponsors, the four-day series of events will feature more than 100 authors and 50 events. Best-selling authors including��The New York Times��best-selling author of the��The Wife, Meg Wolitzer, best-selling author of��One True Thing, Anna Quindlen, and National Book Award Finalist Min Jin Lee (author of the popular best seller��Pachinko) will be participating in discussions as part of the festival.

Ģ����Ƶ faculty will also serve as panel hosts and participants throughout the four days of programming.

On Friday, March 16 at 3:30 p.m., Assistant Professor of English Michael Robbins will discuss how art can help people make sense – or nonsense – of the world in “Equipment for Living: on Poetry and Pop Music” at the School of Communication and Media’s Presentation Hall on the Ģ����Ƶ campus.

On Saturday, March 17 at 11 a.m., Professor of English Lucy McDiarmid will join a St. Patrick’s Day panel discussion titled “Irish Women: Revolution, Romance, and ‘The Troubles’” at The Guild Room at the First Congregational Church in Ģ����Ƶ. Also at 11 a.m., Associate Professor of English Laura Nicosia will participate in a panel discussion titled “Letters to��Secretary DeVos: What We’d Like to Discuss With You About Education”��alongside Professor of History Leslie Wilson at the Ģ����Ƶ Public Library Auditorium. She will also participate in a panel discussing the reinventing of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Genre at 2:45 p.m. in The Guild Room at Ģ����Ƶ’s First Congregational Church. Wilson will also present a discussion titled “Building the Great Society: Inside Lyndon Johnson’s White House”��at the Ģ����Ƶ Public Library Auditorium at 1:30 p.m.

At 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, Professor of Sociology Yasemin Besen-Cassino and Associate Professor of English Patricia Matthew will participate in a panel discussion titled “Women, Sex, Power, and the #MeToo Movement”��at the Ģ����Ƶ Public Library Auditorium. At 4 p.m., Assistant Professor of Justice Studies Jason Williams will present a panel discussion titled “‘They Can’t Kill Us All’: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement” at the Ģ����Ƶ Public Library Auditorium.

Professor of English and author David Galef will help close the festival on Sunday, March 18 at 10 a.m., with a workshop titled “Flash Fiction,” in which he will lead the audience through the possibilities of creating fiction stories in 1,000 words or less.

Kate Tobie led the Red Hawks with 11 points in the loss, while Katie Sire and Taylor Harmon each added 8 points in the setback.

On behalf of the Ģ����Ƶ community, we congratulate the women’s basketball team on its outstanding season that included its sixth consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament championship and its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, in addition to the fourth trip to the round of 16 in program history.

The artist Chuck Hayden’s apartment just a few blocks from Ģ����Ƶ is filled with paintings of the American West, cowboys and horses. Under the gaze of a bucking bull, a favorite rodeo motif (and yes, he once roped), Hayden practices the fingering and chords of the guitar.

On Mondays, he has a gig at his weekly lesson at the John J. Cali School of Music. At 90, Hayden is certainly the oldest of the students in class. But it is not unusual to find other interesting and interested adults engaged in musical and artistic pursuits at Ģ����Ƶ State. “When you get older and your kids are out of the house you can sit down and you can learn something,” Hayden says. “It’s fun.”

Music is just one genre in which Ģ����Ƶ State hits the right note in connecting with its neighbors. Children as young as age 3, beginners and advanced musicians refining their technique are taking classes at the . It’s among the non-matriculated, wide-ranging programming that shapes the University as a cultural, artistic and intellectual center for the community.

For the active mind, lecture series, interviews and discussions are free and open to the public. Internationally acclaimed artists and productions draw audiences to the Alexander Kasser Theater. Enrichment classes like biomimicry and aerodynamics motivate elementary students and teens.

“We were amazed to have a college environment available to our children,” says Dan Walker of Glen Ridge. His son William takes a class in music theory and has attended the Gifted & Talented summer academy. “In terms of maturity and letting your kids to grow, it’s fantastic. It has broadened William’s horizons and created awareness for all of us.”

The campus life is inspiring. William Walker, 13, has spent the past four summers challenged by engaging courses in science, technology, humanities, mathematics and the fine arts. “It does convey the experience I might have in college,” he says.

The classes are also life-enhancing. As a concert-goer at Cali School performances (more than 200 are presented each year), Hayden was inspired to add another instrument to his repertoire. He’s played the banjo for 80 years, loves jazz, and also plays the four-string tenor guitar.

On a recent morning, his lesson was accompanied by the notes of a piano and vocal warm-up floating through the open window of the studio. Hayden strums a steady rhythm pattern while switching between chords.

“It’s all so hard,” Hayden says. “Do you think I’ll ever learn this assignment?”

“You just did!” encourages his teacher Dan Spencer, a 2015 graduate of Ģ����Ƶ State.

Spencer is pursuing a recording career and is among the professional artist-teachers, music majors and Cali School faculty who provide the instrumental, voice and composition training to about 200 students. Some, like Beatrix Hittinger, 4, who takes Suzuki violin, are literally growing up in the program.

“Since we started her so young, I have loved seeing her grow and develop in musical ability,” says her mother Maria Hittinger of Ģ����Ƶ.

At home, Hayden’s instruments of all his arts, paints and music, take center stage in his living room. He picks up his guitar to play for his granddaughter, a sophomore at Ģ����Ƶ State.

“I practice a lot because I have a lot to memorize,” he says.

Find a listing of upcoming performances, discussions, interviews and events on our

A sampling:

• is a speakers’ series featuring notable artists, designers, art historians and art critics from around the world who come to campus to present their work and ideas.
• offers several initiatives from the College of the Arts.
  • Films and Filmmakers welcomes audience questions while being a forum to hear inside stories from some of the most innovative filmmakers working in the field today.��
  • Reel Ģ����Ƶ is a monthly discussion series featuring writers working in film and TV, from award-winning, seasoned scribes to new, emerging voices in cinematic storytelling.
• Leaders of the World is a new conference on ethics, education and the environment hosted by the Office of International Engagement.
• presents literary performances and opportunities to engage directly with writers about the creative process.
• hosts a new discussion series.
• The mounts acclaimed exhibits of work by leading contemporary artists.

is the renowned series of contemporary theater, dance, performance art and music. A highlight from fall 2017 included a talk with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on The Merchant of Venice. Ginsburg showed she is as well versed in Shakespeare as she is in constitutional law.

An open house for children and adults to learn more about the University’s music opportunities will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Chapin Hall. In the summer, Stokes Forest Music Camp provides music making and environmental studies at the University’s New Jersey School of Conservation campus.

For sports fans: minor league baseball and professional soccer’s call Ģ����Ƶ State home; offers exhibits and programs; have won five NCAA National Championships. Campus Recreation hosts children’s pool parties, and offers swim and scuba lessons and lifeguard training.