��Ƶ News - Aug. 6, 2026 - University Relations & Marketing

��Ƶ News - Aug. 6, 2026

WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

��Ƶ Initiative Expands College Access in Pleasantville

��Ƶ spent the past school year bringing the college admissions process directly to Pleasantville High School, a pilot initiative that helped boost applications, enrollment and college access for local students.

��Ƶ admissions counselors Grace Hind and Michelle Puerta built lasting relationships with students, spending every Thursday in a dedicated office at the high school answering questions about everything from the application process to scholarships and aid. Hind even admitted 24 students during one very busy Instant Decision Day last spring.

“We saw an area that is close to campus with students who were hungry for information,” Hind said of the decision to test out embedding a ��Ƶ admissions counselor at the high school.

And the model is working. ��Ƶ saw a 78% increase in applications over the previous year and a 57% increase in deposits for the fall semester from Pleasantville High School (PHS).

Among those who will attend ��Ƶ are six of the Top 10 Pleasantville 2026 graduates including Ja’vira Blake, Rabi Moya-Luna, Ema Ortiz-Antonio, Marlet Cruz-Diaz, Jeremiah Wright and Rudilania Cruz-Carrasco.

PHOTO: Among the recent graduates attending ��Ƶ this fall are Jeremiah Wright, Ja’vira Blake, Marlet Cruz-Diaz and Ema Ortiz-Antonio who also participated in the Educational Opportunity Fund Summer Bridge Program in July.

In the News: , ,

New State Grant Supports Climate Change Education

��Ƶ will continue to provide K-12 teachers free climate change instruction thanks to a $650,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Education.

This is the third year the university’s Southern Regional Institute and Educational Technology Training Center (SRI & ETTC) received funding from the state to support climate change education for a total award of $1.9 million.

The project, which led to the creation of the Climate Change Learning Collaborative, provides access to resources and professional learning opportunities to help instructors in eight southern counties address New Jersey’s student learning standards for climate change education.

“We use this foundation to help K-12 educators learn to create, assess and teach project-based learning units of study focused upon climate change causes, effects and responses,” said Patty Weeks, director of the SRI&ETTC and co-director of the collaborative.

The ��Ƶ collaborative serves Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem counties. Ramapo College, Rutgers and Monmouth University provide similar services in other parts of the state.

In the News:

SPOTLIGHT ON: JOHN O'HARA

John O’Hara at The Declaration's Promise exhibit As the nation prepared to commemorate its 250th anniversary, John O’Hara spent a year researching and writing a permanent exhibition that brings the evolving promise of American democracy home to South Jersey.

O’Hara, a professor of Critical Thinking & First-Year Studies at ��Ƶ, served as the lead researcher and principal author for “The Declaration's Promise,” a permanent gallery at the recently restored Benjamin Cooper Tavern in Camden.

In the following interview, he discusses the complex process of shaping the exhibition’s narrative, what he hopes visitors take away from it and how the research directly relates to his teaching.

FRAME-WORTHY

Noyes Summer Art Camp Molds Art into Fun

Campers explored a variety of clay materials and techniques during the Noyes Summer Art Camp. From pinch pots and coil pots to air-dry clay, model magic and polymer clay jewelry, they sculpted, molded, rolled, carved and created fun, functional pieces to take home.

📸 Check out the to see their creativity in action.

WHAT'S TRENDING @ #STOCKTONU

: Caught my neighbor standing guard this morning. I think they like the view as much as I do.

: This is what ��Ƶ-maxxing in the summer looks like. M Sky is a Visual Arts major with a concentration in K-12 education and a Disabilities Studies minor.

: It was a pleasure to welcome Lt. Gov. Dale G. Caldwell to ��Ƶ to share how we're expanding opportunity for our students, strengthening South Jersey and investing in New Jersey's future through public higher education.

FROM THE SIDELINES

��Ƶ Athletics Announces 2025-26 Award Winners

Five ��Ƶ student-athletes were chosen the athletic department's annual awards for the 2025-26 academic year. Track & field competitorsAhmad Fogg and Elaina Styer were selected ��Ƶ Male Athlete of the Year and ��Ƶ Female Athlete of the Year, respectively.

Billie Ormsby, who plays women's lacrosse and women's soccer, was chosen for the SAAC Unsung Hero Award by the ��Ƶ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The SAAC is a group of student-athlete representatives that provide insight and offer input to athletic administrators and the institution on behalf of all student-athletes at ��Ƶ.

Men's lacrosse player Connor Jablonski and women's soccer player Erin Lally were named Male and Female Comeback Athletes of the Year by ��Ƶ Athletic Training Services.

Ospreys Set Record with 150 NJAC All-Academic Qualifiers

��Ƶ a school record with 150 student-athletes qualifying for the 2025-26 New Jersey Athletic Conference All-Academic Team for their work in the classroom. Baseball player Nick Avagnano and softball player Emma Coldsnow collected NJAC All-Academic First Team recognition.

Women's lacrosse player Gina Marotta and men's soccer player Uche Wokocha received NJAC All-Academic Second Team accolades. Beyond Avagnano, Coldsnow, Marotta and Wokocha, 146 Ospreys earned NJAC All-Academic Honorable Mention spots.

To be eligible, student-athletes must be sophomores, juniors or seniors in a conference-sponsored sport and have a minimum 3.20 grade point average. True freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible. ��Ƶ is an NJAC member in 16 of its 19 sports, with men's lacrosse, women's golf and women's rowing as the exceptions.

SOARING FORWARD: IN ACTION

A Plan of the People
Nicole Suprun, associate director of Planning in Academic Affairs, emphasizes that collaboration is the primary theme of this strategic planning process. “We’ve been using the strategic plan process, and implementation process, to build trust and increase transparency. This [plan] is the foundation for ��Ƶ going forward," she said.

Jamael Harrison, who serves as the director of Assessment and Communication in Student Affairs, believes that numbers and storytelling go hand in hand. This belief led him to co-lead the Data & Assessment Team with Suprun.

“What better way to intertwine what I love on the data side with people and context, as well as the structural underpinnings of what goes into telling the story through numbers,” Harrison said.

In practical terms, he says that his and Suprun’s role in the implementation process has focused on providing the community with what they need to participate as stakeholders and contributors to the plan’s mission.

This includes collaborating with various campus partners through regular updates and training and providing priority teams with a centralized infrastructure via ClearPoint. “We’ve worked hard to make sure that it's not inundating, but informative and unique to your role in the system here,” he added.

Suprun emphasizes the role of the strategic plan in decision-making at the university: “It’s important that the strategic plan is a constant topic of conversation and stays at the core of what we do, because it should be guiding us forward.”

Harrison is optimistic and shares that there are “no small parts” in participating in the process – he asserts that everyone’s input, from operations to strategy, is critical in making the plan a success.

“When we talk about strategic planning, we're talking about those key performance indicators like retention, enrollment, persistence, graduation rates: the stuff that we have to report up to the state in order to get funding and our accreditation measures met. No matter your role on campus, your role is important because you play a role in student success here,” Harrison said.

Suprun calls for everyone to be engaged at all levels. “The strategic plan should guide every decision we make going forward. It shouldn’t just be the people at the top leading those discussions. The strategic plan should be a part of everyday conversations at every level of the university – from staff meetings and small team meetings to senior leadership and the Board of Trustees.”

Harrison also encourages those on the sidelines to consider raising their hand and participating in the process. “If you don't get the whole puzzle or mosaic of it all, just ask the question. We're moving in a direction where all of these parts need to work in a symbiotic way, so if there’s something you don't understand, ask so that you can play the part that's necessary to keep ��Ƶ successful and impactful,” he said.

Please view the Strategic Plan website for important updates from the implementation team. As a reminder, the full set of priorities, objectives, strategies and actions, along with the associated timeline, is available in the ClearPoint report within the Strategic Plan area of the portal’s Employee tab. Progress on actions is already underway, and we look forward to sharing more about the work being done to meet our priorities.

Read previous Implementation Updates here.

STOCKTON SITES & CENTERS

Noyes Leads South Jersey Migration Monument Initiative
The is leading the South Jersey effort of the NJ Monuments to Migration and Labor initiative, a three-year project funded by the Mellon Foundation that honors the contributions of immigrants and migrants to New Jersey’s history through public art, dialogue and community engagement.

The initiative’s flagship project, Monument on the Move, features Sailbus, an interactive mobile monument created by Brooklyn artist Immanuel Oni. The transformed school bus includes community-designed flags, audio stories, video installations and participatory experiences highlighting the journeys of migrant farmworkers and Japanese American communities in South Jersey. ��Ƶ student Aayushma Dhakal and alum Cheresse Cargill worked with Noyes Museum Executive Director Michael Cagno to help launch the project.

OSPREY NOTES

Bjork Library Prepares to Reopen; Temporary Service Changes
The Bjork Library renovation is nearly complete, and staff and physical collections are moving back into the newly renovated space.

Physical library services will be unavailable Aug. 17-30 during the move. For course reserves, contact Tiffiny Gipson at Tiffiny.Gipson@stockton.edu. For interlibrary loan, email illlib@stockton.edu. For other assistance, call 609-652-4346 or use the library’s or email service.

The library will hold a soft opening Monday, Aug. 31, followed by a grand opening celebration at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 10. Until the move is complete, continue using the temporary library location in the C/D Atrium.

One-Click Break: Take a quick tropical escape with the Panama Hummingbird Feeder Cam at Canopy Tower. Watch colorful hummingbirds flutter in for a snack from the heart of the Panamanian rainforest. 🌺🐦