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Middlesex County College and Kean University sign admissions pact

Staff Report
@MyCentralJersey
Kean University President Dawood Farahi (seated, second from right) and Middlesex County College President Joann La Perla-Morales (seated, second from left) signed a Joint Admissions Agreement providing MCC students admission to one of a growing list of approved degree programs at Kean upon completion of their associate degree.
  Pictured (seated, left to right): Mark McCormick, MCC vice president for academic and student affairs; MCC President Joann La Perla-Morales; Kean President Dawood Farahi; and Stephen Kubow, acting associate vice president of Kean Ocean. Pictured (standing, left to right): Jeffrey Herron, MCC dean of professional studies; Linda Scherr, MCC dean of arts and sciences; Patrick Madama, MCC vice president for institutional advancement; George Chang, dean of Kean’s College of Natural, Applied and Health Sciences; and Marsha McCarthy, associate vice president for enrollment management at Kean

Kean University President Dawood Farahi and Middlesex County College President Joann La Perla-Morales signed a Joint Admissions Agreement recently providing Middlesex County College (MCC) students provisional admission to Kean.

Upon successful completion of their associate degree at the Edison-based  college, students may gain full admission to one of a growing list of approved degree programs at Kean University in Union.

“This new Joint Admissions Program provides students with a seamless route to earn a bachelor’s degree from Kean University –– without wasting time or money taking credits that don’t transfer,” Farahi said in a news release. “This initiative also serves to extend the reach of Kean’s world-class programs, faculty, facilities and services to students who begin their studies at the community college.”

For the last five years, more than 200 Middlesex County College students have transferred to Kean each year, accounting for more than 15 percent of Kean’s transfer admissions population. Now, MCC students who enroll under the Joint Admissions Program will start experiencing a Kean University education from the start of freshman year, getting access to Kean’s faculty and advisors, as well as invitations to special campus programs and events.

The agreement provides advisement and transfer of credits, allowing students to enter Kean University as a junior in the following undergraduate degree programs: B.A. Biology; B.A. Psychology; B.S. Accounting; B.S. Management - General Business; B.S. Management - Supply Chain; B.S. Management - Entrepreneurship

“Middlesex County College is already one of the biggest senders of students to Kean because we know that Kean takes great care of our students,” La Perla-Morales said. “Now, students can come to Middlesex County College knowing exactly what classes they need to be able to go on and succeed at Kean –– because their path is spelled out for them. We are very pleased to continue our work with Kean.”

For two consecutive years, Kean University has been named to Phi Theta Kappa’s Excellence in Community College Transfer Honor Roll, which recognizes the nation’s top four-year colleges and universities for their dynamic community college transfer pathways. The University has agreements and partnerships with a growing number of community colleges to help their students make a smooth transition to Kean.

Kean Ocean is a unique partnership in which students in one of more than 30 undergraduate academic programs receive their associate degree from Ocean County College, and then transfer to Kean without having to leave the Toms River campus. The University also has joint admissions programs with Essex County College, Union County College and Union County Vocational Technical School. Kean has articulation agreements with Bergen Community College for the transfer of associate degree credits toward a four-year degree at Kean, and with College of Saint Elizabeth for the transfer of credits from their Graduate Certificate in Holocaust and Genocide Education to Kean’s Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies program.

In addition to the first six programs approved for joint admission in the Kean University-Middlesex County College Joint Admissions Program, similar opportunities will be made available in chemistry, early childhood education, elementary education, history and computer science. At the signing ceremony, members of the two schools’ admissions and enrollment teams identified additional programs, in sociology, political science and criminal justice, that will be evaluated for future inclusion in the joint admissions agreement.

For more information, visit www.middlesexcc.edu/.

READ: The good things students are doing in Central Jersey and beyond

READ: Education news from around the region

COLLEGE CONNECTION: Advice from local expert columnist

Centenary University

College Raptor, the only college planning website that helps families discover colleges based on personalized estimates of actual college costs, has featured Centenary University in Hackettstown as a 2018 Hidden U.S. Gem in an announcement published recently.

Centenary University earned a spot in "Hidden Northeast Gems."

According to a news  release, this selection recognizes Centenary as one of the best colleges in the country, based on a combination of factors, including number of applications received, graduation rates, campus diversity, endowment per student, and other key metrics as reported via the National Center for Education Statistics for the most recently available enrollment year. View the complete College Raptor 2018 Hidden Gems at https://www.collegeraptor.com/hidden-gems-2018/.

“We assemble these Hidden Gem lists to showcase lesser-known colleges, and to empower prospective students and parents to discover schools they might not have considered,” said Bill Staib, College Raptor’s CEO.

College Raptor’s Hidden Gems began in tandem with their Best Colleges Rankings four years ago, in an attempt to better represent an overall assessment of the health and quality of a college. To that end, College Raptor’s ranking comprises a number of specific factors that are then combined into a single weighted score, which determines a college’s overall rank.

ALSO: Centenary University’s Department of Social Sciences, in cooperation with Triway International Group, Falls Church, Virginia, was host to 18 government Division Chiefs from the People’s Republic of China recently. 

The executives work in various government bureaus involved in disaster preparedness, and are in the United States to study current emergency management procedures. 

At Centenary, they attended a seminar entitled Police Emergency Preparedness and Agency Interaction, and Police Crisis Communications.  The seminar was presented by Dr. Joseph P. Linskey, professor of criminal justice and sociology. Topics of discussion included emergency management operations, deployment of resources during emergencies, interagency cooperation during emergencies, handling of foreign victims, and a case study on hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, and Irma.

After completing the seminar, Guan Huyuan of the Beijing Office of Foreign Affairs said, “the delegation had a wonderful experience at Centenary and it was great to talk with lecturers with actual experience in the police system.”

Columbus State Community College

Smit Patel of Piscataway was named to the summer dean's list at Columbus State Community College. Students must have a grade-point average of 3.5.

Ithaca College

Katelyn Walsh of Roselle Park was selected for Ithaca college's inaugural cohort of BOLD scholars, comprising 10 juniors who have become part of an initiative focused on cultivating courageous leadership among college women.

Kean University

More than two dozen young scholars studied at the Kean University School for Global Education and Innovation over the summer as part of the STARTALK language initiative program, funded by a U.S. National Security Agency grant.

The program, in its eighth year, is designed to boost proficiency in critical world languages. The students —  in middle school, high school and college —  took courses taught entirely in Hindi and Urdu while they studied a global issue.

“The purpose of this program is to increase the number of speakers, readers and writers of Hindi and Urdu as part of a government initiative to develop the capacity to assist with national security, diplomacy and international economic issues,” said Janis Jensen, director of the program at the university in Union, in a news release.

Most of the students enrolled in the program have an understanding of Hindi and Urdu from home, but they have varying degrees of proficiency. In the initiative, the students develop their language literacy while also learning about an important global issue, and teachers learn to incorporate new methodologies to enhance language learning.

The three-week course focused on the topic of environmental challenges and public health in India, Pakistan, and the United States. Throughout the program, students engage in daily Skype sessions with partner school students in India and Pakistan.

“They use Hindi and Urdu to do research on the environment and related health problems, to develop positions that consider multiple perspectives, and then to draw conclusions leading to collaborative actions to address those issues," said Jensen.

Upon completion of the program, the students take a standardized test that could earn them college credits. Tanvi Patel, a high school student from Edison who came to the U.S. from India last year, sees multiple benefits from the STARTALK initiative.

“In the program, we compared India and the U.S.’s air and water pollution, along with overpopulation, and determined that India doesn’t have the specific schemes and policies that we have here,” Patel said. “The ability to write and learn in Hindi also helps my chances with colleges, and I made new friends.”

Students who complete the summer program have the opportunity to enroll in the STARTALK / Kean Extended Online Hindi/Urdu Learning Program or in Kean University Hindi or Urdu courses and can serve as student teaching assistants in the 2018 program.

Mahad Rana, an Eisenhower Middle School student from Wykoff, said that the program was meaningful to him because of the layers of learning it offers. “It was cool to incorporate Urdu with learning,” he said.

Due to the success of the STARTALK program, Kean University has been invited to apply for another U.S. National Security Agency grant. So far, the program has received more than a million dollars in grant money, with typical annual funding in the range of $90,000 to $120,000.

For more information on Kean’s STARTALK program, contact Janis Jensen, director of STARTALK Initiatives, at jjensen@kean.edu.; 908-737-0552.

ALSO: Dil Ramanathan, assistant professor in the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics at Kean University, was named a 2017 Inspiring Leader in STEM. The national award, presented by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education, honors professionals from underrepresented groups who have made a difference in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

“As the most senior female faculty member in the STEM program at Kean, Dr. Ramanathan is continuously paving a path for future generations of scientists, especially underrepresented female students,” said Keith Bostian, dean of the center. “Her passion for chemistry and education are the cornerstones of her success and her innate desire to help those who might otherwise be overlooked give her all the motivation she needs to keep overcoming obstacles while breaking barriers in the process. She is an extraordinary role model for young women pursuing a career in STEM.”

An immigrant from Sri Lanka, Ramanathan has faced many obstacles in her life. At a young age, she had high aspirations to contribute to educating young minds in the areas of science and technology. However, the lack of opportunities for women in Sri Lanka made it very difficult for her to pursue her dream. When she arrived in the United States in 1983, she dealt with financial hardships, the pressures of balancing family and work, and the widely accepted belief in her culture that a woman's place is at home.

Inspiring Leader in STEM award recipients were nominated by a colleague and selected based on their efforts to inspire and encourage a new generation of young people to consider careers in STEM through mentoring, teaching, research and successful programs and initiatives.

“We know many of those working in STEM fields, especially those from underrepresented groups, are not always recognized for their success, dedication, and mentorship to others,” said Lenore Pearlstein, owner and publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “We want to honor the many professionals who are inspirations to their colleagues, their community, and to young people who may be interested in a future career in STEM.”

Through NJCSTM’s Research First Initiative and Group Summer Scholars Research Program, Ramanathan leads immersive team-focused research initiatives that enable undergraduate and high school students to develop a true appreciation of the scientific research process while contributing firsthand to the acquisition of new scientific knowledge. As a faculty member, she has also mentored more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students in the past decade at Kean, and in 2012, received the University’s Faculty Research Mentor of the Year Award.

Ramanathan has also received the Foundation Faculty Research Award, Untenured Faculty Research Initiative Award, Students Partnering with Faculty Award, Presidential Grant, and the New Research Initiatives Grant. In 2014, the New Jersey General Assembly recognized Ramanathan for her community leadership, exemplary volunteerism and professional achievements in biotechnology.

For more information about Kean’s New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics, visit www.kean.edu/NJCSTM or call 908-737-7205.

Mount Saint Mary Academy

Georgian Court University in Lakewood presented its Distinguished Alumni Award to Sister Lisa D. Gambacorto, the directress of Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung since 2000.

Gambarcorto, a 1984 graduate of Georgian Court, received her award on Oct. 1, during the Alumni Awards Brunch Program, the culminating event of the university’s reunion and homecoming activities.

According to a news release, the Distinguished Alumni Award is presented to an alumnus who has excelled in their chosen field and whose achievements have brought distinction to themselves, credit to Georgian Court University, and real benefit to their communities.

The Georgian Court honor comes a little over one year after Gambacorto  received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award — the Cross of Honour — the highest Papal honor awarded to laity and clergy for distinguished service to the church.

“We were especially proud to honor Sister Lisa with GCU’s Distinguished Alumni Award," said Brian Agnew, vice president for Institutional Advancement at GCU. "The university community was excited when she received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award, and when nominations were made for the alumni honor, we seized the opportunity to underscore the impact of Sister Lisa’s many contributions. She has been so instrumental in making Mount Saint Mary Academy one of the most vibrant and respected secondary schools in New Jersey — at a time when academic leadership and leadership by example are critical.

“Perhaps the most amazing proof of her success is the fact that 100 percent of Mount seniors are accepted into college,” Agnew added. “What she does for her students carries meaning far beyond their time at the Mount. Sister Lisa is shaping lives now and into the future.”

Gambacorto said, “My years at Georgian Court quickly laid the foundation of not only my life’s work, but the interior life of my heart and soul…the truth of the matter was, and always will be, that Georgian Court made me who I am.”

Mariah and her puppets taught students at St. Helena School in Edison about recycling and how to not be a litterbug during a recent program. Several third-graders took part in the show.

St. Helena School

Students at St. Helena School in Edison learned about recycling and not being a litterbug during a recent program.

During the special program, Mariah and her puppets told the story of “The Giving Tree” and “The Selfish Giant” as a means of recycling and reusing objects to keep the earth clean.

The show, for grades Pre K4 through third grade, was provided by the Edison Township Division of Health. Several third-graders took part in the show.

Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School

As part of the annual Week of Respect October 2- 6 and in accordance to the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act, the Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School in Bridgewater welcomed Larry Scott who talked to students about Rachel’s Challenge.

Scott spoke of bullying, compassion, kindness and respect in memory of his niece, Rachel Joy Scott, who was the first person killed in the Columbine High School shooting on April 20, 1999.  After the assemblies, SCVTHS students and staff took part in a training to create a Friends of Rachel club, which aims to “foster a permanent culture of kindness and compassion” within the school.

Students take part in Rachel's Challenge assembly by Larry Scott.

“In the follow up Friends of Rachel training for students and staff, I was able to witness firsthand how the assembly resonated throughout our school community," Principal Diane  Ziegler said. "I am inspired by the enthusiasm and energy our students had in the training, and we will work closely with the students to keep the momentum going.”

In addition, students in Gichan’s Photography classes created black and white anti-HIB (harassment, intimidation, and bullying) posters for the Week of Respect. The artwork was then put on display throughout the school’s buildings, hallways and cafeteria for all of SCVTHS to view.

On Oct. 19, the Linkages Department (funded by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families) during lunch periods distributed handouts, pamphlets and informational literature about bullying. Students also wee asked to submit drawings to the ever-expanding Wall of Peace.

The Pingry School

Twenty-two Pingry seniors were recognized for exceptional academic promise as Commended Students in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. They placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2018 competition by taking the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Including these 22 students, 168 students from the school in Bernards have been Commended Students over the past five years.

READ:2018 National Merit semifinalists from Central Jersey

Commended students included: Arnav Agrawal of Metuchen, Bao Pham of South Plainfield, Wallace Truesdale of Somerset.

The Protect Me With 3+ Contest

The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Health, has launched the sixth annual Protect Me With 3+ poster and video contest.

The contest challenges New Jersey youth in middle and high school to raise awareness about the importance of adolescent immunizations: tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY) and flu vaccines. Last year, the contest had nearly 400 total entries from students across New Jersey.

“The Protect Me With 3+ contest helps to educate adolescents about the recommended vaccines they need to remain healthy,” NJ State Epidemiologist and Assistant Commissioner, Dr. Tina Tan said in a news release. "Adolescence is a critical time to receive booster shots to prevent infectious diseases, therefore it is important for parents to ensure their children’s immunizations are up to date.”

Beginning on Dec. 4, middle school and high school students can participate in the contest by submitting a hand-drawn poster or an original computer-generated poster that integrate key facts about one of the adolescent vaccines listed above. High school students have the additional option to submit a video up to 30 seconds long in the place of a poster. The submission deadline is Jan. 28, 2018. Prizes will be awarded to the top three entries in the video and poster categories, and the winning entries will be showcased during various statewide immunization awareness activities.

Additionally, students who submit entries by Jan. 1, 2018, will be entered into random drawings to win prizes courtesy of Protect Me With 3+ event sponsors. For more information about Protect Me With 3+ sponsorship opportunities, visit www.protectmewith3.com/sponsors.

The top five finalists in each of the three categories will be posted on www.protectmewith3.com for public voting in March. The winners will then be announced and honored at an awards ceremony in April.

New Jersey teachers are encouraged to make the Protect Me With 3+ contest a class project. As an added incentive, prizes will be awarded to the classrooms with the most eligible submissions in each of the three categories. For more information and interactive materials for schools, visit http://www.protectmewith3.com/schools/.

Information regarding eligibility, video and poster submission guidelines, and contest rules can be found at www.protectmewith3.com.  

Fourth grade students proudly display the painting technique they learned on Confucius Classrooms Day.

The Wardlaw+Hartridge School

The Wardlaw + Hartridge School in Edison celebrated Confucius Classrooms Day with a series of cultural activities on Oct. 4. Students in all three divisions participated in the programs.

Chinese language students and international students joined in a special song — "Moon Represents My Heart" — during Upper School morning meeting. Hua Liu, Mandarin teacher, introduced the performance and also invited students to view a display of photos and cultural items in the new alcove in the AP Room. Middle and Lower School students took the opportunity to peruse those items during their lunch periods.

During the afternoon in Lower Snowdon, well known Chinese artist Hengyi Aisin-gioro taught Lower, Middle and Upper School students a special painting technique.  She is a descendant of the royal family of the Qing Dynasty. She was lucky enough to have the care of the last emperor Puyi and Puyi’s brother Pujie. Her background gave her access to the court tradition in painting and opportunities to see numerous famous paintings held in the imperial court at a very early age. Hengyi transcended the court tradition in Chinese painting and formed a unique style of her own, which she shared with W+H students.

Sixth graders Hannah Yin of Scotch Plains and Vanessa Fang of Edison learn more about outdoor life during their class trip to Frost Valley.

ALSO: The Class of 2024 at The Wardlaw + Hartridge School in Edison enjoyed a  four-day trip to Frost Valley in Claryville, New York.  The sixth-graders, who were accompanied by chaperones Tanda Tucker of Bernardsville, Andrea Barnett of Morganville, Kirstin Rogers of Parlin and Dina Congregane of Scotch Plains, experienced many adventures and took advantage of opportunities for growth while connecting with nature.

Trip highlights included hiking to a cable bridge, investigating the pond ecosystem, learning about apples, picking them from an orchard and taking turns putting apples into a traditional cider press and turning the crank. The students and chaperones also completed a service project in the garden, which needed harvesting and weeding. They also learned about maps and orienteering.

Last, but not least, they gathered around a campfire to sing songs, tell stories and, of course, make and eat S'mores!

Union County College

As part of Union County College’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, Julissa Reynoso, the former U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay, spoke to an audience of students, faculty, and staff on Sept. 27, at the College’s Cranford campus.

Her presentation was entitled, “Challenges for a New Leadership.” Ambassador Reynoso’s visit to campus was sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders through the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.

Left to right: Union County Freeholder Al Mirabella, Freeholder Angel Estrada, Union County College Vice President for Student Development Dr. Demond Hargrove, Ambassador Reynoso, Freeholder Vernell Wright, Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, and Freeholder Christopher Hudak.

Early attendees were welcomed with live classical guitar music. The college’s Vice President for Student Development, Dr. Demond T. Hargrove, welcomed those in attendance and introduced Union County Freeholder Angel Estrada. Freeholder Estrada was joined by Freeholders Christopher Hudak, Bette Jane Kowalski, Alexander Mirabella, and Vernell Wright in presenting Ambassador Reynoso with a resolution in recognition of her participation in this Hispanic Heritage Month event.

Reynoso has extensive policy and legal experience, as a lawyer in private practice, and as a senior diplomat for the U.S. government. In addition to her ambassador position, she also served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central American, Caribbean, and Cuban Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. 

Reynoso encouraged Union students to consider a career in public service, specifically in international government service, according to a news release. She emphasized the importance of education and language skills noting that students who speak another language at home should cultivate those skills. She reminded students to work hard but to not think that opportunities, like working for the State Department, are outside of their reach.

University of Rochester

Metuchen resident Ian Dg Lawson, a junior majoring in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Rochester, will spend the fall semester in Sydney, Australia.

Student and School news appears Fridays. Email:hntmetro@mycentraljersey.com