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Cranford, NJ – UCNJ of Union County, NJ is proud to announce that longtime Golf Coach and Dean of STEM William Dunscombe was inducted into the National Junior Athletic Association (NJCAA) Golf Hall of Fame at this year’s NJCAA Division III National Golf Championship held in June in Chautauqua, New York.

The induction took place at the National Golf Coaches Annual meeting, held in conjunction with the NJCAA Division Golf Championships. Dean Dunscombe started his golf career at UCNJ in 1975, serving as Head Golf Coach until 2019. Over the course of his coaching career, Dean Dunscombe had 18 NJCAA National Tournament appearances (both individual and teams), more than 500 career wins, one Region XIX Championship, seven Garden State Athletic Conference Champions, and coached one All-American player. Four of his athletes went on to play professionally. Dean Duncombe was inducted into UCNJ’s own Hall of Fame in 1981.

“The UCNJ community is incredibly proud of Dean Dunscombe and thanks the NJCAA for their recognition of his vast contributions over the past 40 plus years,” stated UCNJ’s President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin. “It is the support of coaches, like Dean Dunscombe, that help our athletes to grow and develop their skills. Dean Dunscombe has inspired many student-athletes during his time coaching, and he should be proud of the mark he has made on them. This is a tremendous recognition.”

UCNJ of Union County, NJ is a public, comprehensive community college that provides quality, affordable, accessible educational programs to the greater UCNJ 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 25 community colleges in the country for 2023 as designated by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. UCNJ offers 16 athletic programs for student-athletes. For more information on UCNJ’s athletic offerings, visit https://www.unionowls.com/landing/index.

Cranford, NJ – UCNJ UCNJ UCNJ of UCNJ County, NJ continues to expand its training programs for students interested in future-focused industries. Today, the College announced the addition of three non-credit cannabis certificate programs designed to provide job skills training for those interested in a cannabis career.

To address the critical need for workers in the industry, UCNJ has partnered with Green Flower, a leader in cannabis education, to offer these in-demand training programs, focusing on retail specialist training, cannabis extraction and product development, and cultivation.

“The cannabis field is a rapidly growing industry. With the legalization of recreational marijuana use in New Jersey, it is important to educate our community on the process of producing and selling cannabis products in a legal and ethical way,” stated UCNJ’s President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin. “The partnership with Green Flower will provide our students the tools to learn about the cannabis industry and the many ways to pursue a career, with the use of Green Flower’s network.”

“Green Flower is thrilled to be partnering with UCNJ of UCNJ County New Jersey to offer our three cannabis industry training certificate programs. As the cannabis industry continues to grow and evolve, leaders from the college looked to find ways for students to become qualified to work in cannabis retail, extraction and product development, and agriculture environments. The growth of New Jersey’s cannabis industry will be due, in large part, to a well-trained workforce,” said Daniel Kalef, Executive Vice President of Higher Education for Green Flower.

With cannabis industry businesses regularly looking to fill a wide variety of positions—from entry-level to executive roles— these training programs give people the chance to stand out to potential employers as well.

“Like other highly regulated industries, the need to have expertise in material handling, quality control, patient care, security, transportation, horticulture and more, is vital to the success of all aspects of the industry and all things people will learn in these programs,” Kalef said.

Each certificate program is offered fully online and can be completed in approximately two months. Students can register and begin courses at any time. Upon certificate completion, graduates will have access to Green Flower’s employer network. Courses cost $850 each and are now open for enrollment.

For more information on UCNJ’s certificate programs please visit ucc.edu/cannabistraining.

The UCNJ County College Foundation will be hosting the 8th Annual Close the Gap Cocktail Reception on Thursday, July 13 at Galloping Hill Golf Course located in Kenilworth, NJ, with the event kicking off at 6:00 PM. This event supports the College’s strategic initiative to increase the graduation rates of African-American students, to effectively “close the achievement gap.”

This year’s event honors Fountain Baptist Church in Summit, NJ along with its Pastor J. Michael Sanders, and UCNJ 2016 alumnus McDaniel Jeantus. Fountain Baptist Church is celebrating their 125th anniversary this year. Pastor Sanders is retiring after dedicating 40 years to the Fountain Baptist Church. The College’s Foundation will present the inaugural Frank Bolden Honorary Award to Pastor Sanders for his unwavering commitment to our mission of accelerating the pace of African-American student success. Jeantus was a recipient of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation transfer scholarship and will receive the Young Alumni Award at this event.

“While we have been laser focused over the past decade on helping our students reach graduation, despite our efforts, there was a still a gap with our African-American graduation rate. The funds raised at Close the Gap support our students by providing critical financial support so they can cross that finish line and receive their college degree,” stated UCNJ’s President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin

This is sure to be a wonderful night filled with great food, dancing, and cocktails all in support of helping to accelerate the pace of African-American student success at UCNJ. Since the start of the Close the Gap Campaign in 2015, the Foundation has raised approximately $400,000 to support student scholarships, emergency funding, and other support services. More importantly, during the same period, the graduation rates for African-American students have more than quintupled.

For more information and how to be a part of this year’s event to make a positive difference, please visit www.ucc.edu/ctg2023 or call the Foundation Office at 908-709-7505.

 

CRANFORD, NJ – UCNJ UCNJ UCNJ of UCNJ County, NJ is proud to announce that president of the College Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin has been named 2023 Woman of the Year by the Irish Business Association (IBA) of New Jersey, part of the Greater Westfield Area Chamber Commerce. The award was presented to Dr. McMenamin on June 29 at the IBA 13^th Annual Awards Dinner.

Dr. McMenamin was appointed as president of the College in July 2010 and is its first female president. Under her leadership, the College has seen drastic improvements to student success outcomes, particularly the graduation rates. In 2020, Dr. McMenamin was named the National Marie Y. Martin CEO of the Year by the Association of Community College Trustees. In 2022, the Aspen Institute for College Excellence named UCNJ as one of only 25 semifinalists nationwide for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. As it relates to her Irish heritage, Dr. McMenamin served as Grand Marshal of the UCNJ County St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2015.

“We are delighted about this well-deserved recognition of President McMenamin. She is very proud of her Irish heritage, so I know this award is special to her. We are thankful to the IBA for honoring this great leader and proud Irish-American as their Woman of the Year,” stated UCNJ Board of Trustees Chair Victor M. Richel.

UCNJ UCNJ UCNJ of UCNJ County, NJ is a public, comprehensive community college that provides quality, affordable, accessible educational programs to the greater UCNJ 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 25 community colleges in the country for 2023 as designated by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.

CRANFORD, NJ -UCNJ UCNJ UCNJ of UCNJ County, NJ is proud to announce that Board of Governors member and UCNJ alumnus from the class of 1995, Brian Campbell, of Berkeley Heights, has been named a 2023 New Jersey Irish American Leader by Insider NJ.

Campbell grew up in Cranford and along with all six of his siblings and his father, he attended UCNJ and graduated with his associate degree. He went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s in business administration both from Rutgers University. Campbell currently serves as Vice President of Investor Relations at Wiley based in Hoboken.

Cranford, NJ – UCNJ UCNJ of UCNJ County, NJ is proud to announce that four students, Dejanayha Hill, Katherine Mejia, Gabrielle Mojena, and Precious Opaola, have been selected to participate in a summer intensive program at Princeton University. Seven community colleges from New Jersey were invited to have students apply for this summer program with only 35 students accepted to this summer’s cohort.

The summer intensive program at Princeton will take place from June 26 to August 18, with students taking two, four-credit courses, at no cost to the student. The first course is research and argument, which is a writing course, and the second course is quant lab, with five options. These options include: computer programming, engineering, humanistic approaches to media and data, life sciences, or visualizing data. Each course includes “course fellows,” which are peers who have already successfully completed the course and will act as additional support for the students. 

Dejanayha Hill, of Linden, is one of four UCNJ students selected for Princeton’s summer program. She is pursuing her degree in social services at UCNJ and is part of the American Honors Program, Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) honor society, and is a student worker for College Life. She plans to continue her studies in social work by transferring to a four-year institution after she graduates from UCNJ. Her career goal is to obtain her master’s in social work and become a children’s therapist.

Katherine Mejia, of Plainfield, is currently studying social services and is a member of the American Honors program, PTK, and the Educational Opportunity Fund. She plans to continue her studies at a four-year institution and her career goal is to work in the social work field, specializing in immigration.

Gabrielle Mojena, of Linden, is an architecture major. She is a member of PTK and the Architecture Club. After she graduates from UCNJ, she plans on continuing her education at a four-year university to obtain her bachelor’s degree in architecture. Her career goal is to be a licensed architect and someday own her own architecture firm.

Precious Opaola, of Linden, is also studying social services at UCNJ. She is part of the American Honors program and a tutor at UCNJ’s Academic Learning Center. After she graduates from UCNJ, she is hopes to transfer to Rutgers University, Columbia University, or the University of California, Berkeley and wants to continue studying social work.  

“What a special opportunity for our four scholars to attend and learn at Princeton University, at no cost to them,” stated UCNJ’s President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin. “At UCNJ, we help set our students up for success with transformational opportunities to broaden and enhance their experience.”

For more information on the Princeton Summer Intensive Program, go to https://tsi-ebcao.princeton.edu/.

CRANFORD, NJ – UCNJ is proud to announce that its former dean, Dr. Lester Edgardo Sandres Rápalo, has been named the next president of Rockland Community College (RCC) in Suffern, New York. RCC is a part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The Rockland and SUNY Boards approved the appointment, and Dr. Rápalo will begin his new role as the President of RCC starting on July 1, 2023.

Dr. Rápalo joined UCNJ in 2015 as the Dean of Social Sciences, Business, and History before becoming Dean of the Elizabeth Campus & Institute for Intensive English. After UCNJ, Dr. Rapalo went on to serve as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Bronx Community College, City University of New York (CUNY). Prior to joining UCNJ, Dr. Rápalo worked at Valencia College in Florida as the Interim Dean of the Humanities and Foreign Language Department and as the Chair of the Foreign Language Department. He began his administrative career at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as the Program Director of the Study Abroad Program. Dr. Rápalo earned his Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership from Nova Southeastern University, Master of Business Administration from Syracuse University, Master of Arts in Literature and Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts, and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Massachusetts.

“We are incredibly proud of Dr. Rápalo for achieving this career milestone. At UCNJ, we pride ourselves on our ability to develop future leaders. We congratulate him on being selected as the next president of Rockland Community College, and we know he will do great things there,” stated UCNJ’s President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin.

UCNJ is a public, comprehensive community college that provides quality, affordable, accessible educational programs to the greater UCNJ 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 25 community colleges in the country for 2023 as designated by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.

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CRANFORD, NJ -UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ hosted its first Business Pitch Competition at the College’s Cranford Campus. More than twenty UCNJ students submitted a business proposal for the competition, with eleven accepted to enter the main competition and pitch to the five judges.

All UCNJ students were welcomed to participate in the Pitch Competition. To qualify, students were required to attend workshops across an eight-week period. Students who attended at least 75% of the workshops received a stipend and a laptop.

After students submitted proposals, a panel of faculty and academic specialists at UCNJ reviewed the submissions and decided who would move on in the Pitch Competition. Eleven students were selected and pitched to the panel of five judges who work in the business industry. The judges included: Denise Fernandes, Director of Women Economic Forum for New Jersey 2023 and a Member of White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics; Andrew Hurdle, Senior Product Portfolio Manager at Ansell Healthcare; Muhammad Khan, Principal Examiner with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; F. Jim Della Sala, Senior Vice President for Investors Bank and Union County College Foundation Board member; and Rory Wilson, Executive Relationship Manager at Discover. Judging criteria included the pitch’s economic potential, clear description and explanation of the business idea, the potential to attract investors, and more.   

Nicholas Mont came out on top, winning first-place and a $6000 prize to advance his business concept. Mont’s winning pitch addressed the issue of food waste. His proposal was to dehydrate unused food to feed those in need with highly nutritious food. The slogan for his concept was, “dehydrated food is healthy, delicious, and a sustainable solution to end world hunger.” UCNJ’s Bloomberg Business Club President Anais Santacruz earned a second-place finish and received $4000 for her idea of FleaCycle which was focused on recycled fashion. Tyler Farrar earned a third-place finish and received $2000 for his pitch to empower and financially educate youth worldwide with his concept of “money on the way.” Funding for this opportunity was provided by the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund grant: Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge (OMIC), which cultivates innovation, research, and talent. 

“We are proud of these creative students who took the time to develop their business ideas. We are also grateful to receive an OMIC grant to further our student’s entrepreneurial dreams. Giving our students the opportunity to develop their businesses and receive feedback from real working professionals is something they can take with them as they continue to pursue their goals,” stated UCNJ’s President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin.

The Pitch Competition was spearheaded by Dr. Donovan Smalls, UCNJ’s Director of the Business Center. The Business Center, which features Bloomberg Terminals, benefits students majoring in business, business management, business marketing, accounting, supply chain management, blockchain, esports, sport management, and hotel, restaurant, and tourism management. For more information on the Business Center and the Pitch Competition, go to https://www.ucc.edu/business-center/

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 25 community colleges in the country for 2023 as designated by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.

Cranford, NJ – UCNJ UCNJ UCNJ of UCNJ County, NJ held its commencement ceremony for the class of 2023 on May 17 at the College’s Cranford Campus. Two ceremonies, which were led by UCNJ’s President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin, were held to honor the more than 700 graduates.

The ceremonies began with the singing of the National Anthem, featuring two UCNJ 2023 graduates. The singer for the first ceremony was Gina Sanon, of Elizabeth, and Kiara Torres, of UCNJ, sang for the following ceremony. UCNJ’s Board of Trustees Chair Victor M. Richel welcomed the graduates and their families on behalf of the College’s Boards. Each commencement featured a student speaker to address their fellow graduates and the ceremony’s attendees. Kamia Boykin, of Linden, spoke at the first ceremony. She was a member of Phi Theta Kappa honor society and a student athlete. Boykin will attend Saint Peter’s University in the fall. The speaker at the second ceremony was Rachel De La Cruz, of Elizabeth. De La Cruz was an American Honors student, President of the American Honors Council, and spearheaded the creation of the Library Mailbox on the College’s Cranford Campus. De La Cruz confirmed that she will earn her bachelors degree from Amherst College.

Several students were recognized for both their academic and extracurricular achievements. The Post-Day Memorial Award is given to the students that best exemplify the College’s ideals of scholarship, leadership, and service. At the first ceremony, the Post-Day Memorial Award was presented to Savayra Rao, who graduated with a 4.0 GPA and Krystal Villalobos, who graduated with a 3.8 GPA. Both Rao and Villalobos are from Elizabeth and will continue their education at Rutgers University. At the second ceremony, the Post-Day Memorial Award was presented to Rachel De La Cruz, who graduated with a 4.0 GPA and Matthew Lescano, of UCNJ, who graduated with a 3.9 GPA. Lescano will transfer to Drew University this fall.

The Alumni Prize was presented to the graduating student with the highest GPA at each ceremony. The recipient at the first ceremony was Sara Vera, of Elizabeth. She graduated with her associate degree in architecture and a 4.0 GPA. Vera also earned the Outstanding Achievement in Architecture Award, presented at UCNJ’s Awards Night. She will continue her studies at New Jersey Institute of Technology. The recipient at the second ceremony was Zackery Wong, who graduated with an associate degree in graphic design with a 4.0 GPA. Wong also was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design Award and will transfer to Kean University.

“Our graduating class of 2023 is a diverse group of students of different ages and backgrounds. We are proud of their drive and determination to achieve their goal of earning a college degree,” stated UCNJ’s President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin. “This group has seen their education through a pandemic, persevered, and received their college diploma. I am excited to see what they accomplish as they continue their journey.”

UCNJ UCNJ of UCNJ County, NJ is a public, comprehensive community college that provides quality, affordable, accessible educational programs to the greater UCNJ 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. There more than 65 programs of study including Communications, eSports Management, Engineering, Health Information Technology. Students can participate in clubs, honor societies, and a full array of NJCAA athletics beyond Esports including basketball, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, and more. The College offers many experiential learning opportunities such as access to a Bloomberg Business Center, eSports room, Innovation Center, and Student Research hub. Additionally, students at UCNJ will be attending one of the top 25 community colleges in the country as designated by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.