Cranford, NJ – UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ is proud to announce that two members of the college community are receiving 2024 Northeast Regional Awards from the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). Mary M. Zimmermann, Chair of the College’s Board of Governors and a member of the College’s Board of Trustees, is receiving the Trustee Leadership Award and Dr. Michele Rotunda, Associate Professor of History, is receiving the Faculty Member Award. Mrs. Zimmermann and Dr. Rotunda will formally accept the awards in October at the Regional Awards Presentation during the 55th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress in Seattle. By receiving the Northeast Region awards, both recipients are eligible to receive the national M. Dale Ensign Trustee Leadership Award and William H. Meardy Faculty Member Award. The national winners will be named at the Leadership Congress.
Mrs. Zimmermann, of Summit, has been a member of the UCNJ Boards since 2006. In 2023, she finished her term as Chair of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC) where she represented the community college trustees and students of all 18 of NJ’s two-year colleges. Mrs. Zimmermann received the Women of Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Union County Commission on the Status of Women in 2019 and the Ronald D. Winthers Trustee Leadership Award from the NJCCC in 2024.
Dr. Rotunda is a dynamic educator who embraces experiential learning opportunities to bring history alive for her students. She serves as an advisor for the College’s History Club and was integral in the development of the College’s history program. In 2016, Dr. Rotunda received the UCNJ Neblett Prize for Educational Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Dr. Rotunda earned her M.A. in history from Rutgers-Newark/NJIT Federated Program and her Ph.D. in history from Rutgers University. She is the author of A Drunkard’s Defense: Alcohol, Murder, and Medical Jurisprudence in Nineteenth-Century America.
“We are incredibly appreciative of these recognitions from ACCT. Mrs. Zimmermann and Dr. Rotunda are well-deserving recipients. Mrs. Zimmermann is a deeply committed and dedicated board member. She loves our students and is a tireless advocate for them. Dr. Rotunda is a master teacher who inspires her students to learn and live history. We are proud to have them amongst our college community,” stated UCNJ’s President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin.
The ACCT is a non-profit educational organization that represents more than 6500 elected and appointed trustees who govern more than 1200 community colleges, and over 11 million students, throughout the United States. The ACCT annually recognizes trustees and other community college leaders in each of its five regions for their contributions.
UCNJ is a public, comprehensive community college that provides quality, affordable, accessible educational programs to the greater Union County region. It is the first of New Jersey’s 18 two-year colleges, serving both career-minded and transfer-oriented students since 1933. The College offers a wide variety of academic and extracurricular activities. UCNJ provides many experiential learning opportunities such as access to a Bloomberg Business Center, Innovation Center, and Student Research hub. Additionally, students at UCNJ attend one of the top 10 community colleges in the country for 2025 as designated by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. To learn more, visit www.ucc.edu.
