President Cole features Montclair State’s mascot throughout her presentation.
Photo Credit: Jessicca Bacher
President Susan Cole spoke about the many upcoming developments and recent changes which Montclair State has experienced to an audience of university administrators, faculty and staff at the annual Spring Address on April 20.
“This year has certainly been one for ringing the bells at Montclair State University,” Cole said. “Years of work are coming to fruition for a significant change at [Montclair State].”
Since its transition from a college to a university in 1994, Montclair State has undergone significant developments. “Its facilities were grossly inadequate for a college, let alone a university,” said Cole. “Since then, we have built facilities worthy of a university such as Montclair State.” Over the past 22 years as a university, Montclair State has built and renovated 18 new buildings.
Three of these buildings are currently under construction and are expected to open during the next academic year. The new School of Nursing, which will be housed in the newly-renovated Partridge Hall, will admit its first incoming class this fall.
The School of Communication and Media will be one of the most technologically advanced buildings of its kind in the nation, and provide access to state-of-the-art equipment through its recent partnership with Sony — the advantages of which will extend across campus.
Stone Hall will provide the university with additional housing to provide more students with a full on-campus college experience. The updated infrastructure that has been implemented during the past two decades, along with the addition of faculty members, has allowed Montclair State to expand its reach both nationally and internationally — not only providing students with better physical campus facilities, but also opportunities in research and new technologies.
“The fundamental identity of any university rests with its faculty, and [Montclair State] faculty are giving students the opportunity to get hands-on and wrap their minds around the process of knowledge creation,” said Cole.
Montclair State was recently named a research doctoral university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, an honor which only seven percent of universities have. The university has also received recognition in publications such as U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton Review.
Upcoming projects for Montclair State include the renovation of College Hall and the temporary relocation of its many administrative offices to the Overlook Building. College Hall will be repurposed to house all student services, offices and functions.
Plans are also in the works for a renovation of Mallory Hall in order to house the computer science and information technology departments.
“She clearly has a dedication to providing students with quality,” said Saundra Collins, a psychology professor, about Cole.
In regards to the past, present and future construction and changes within the university, Cole said, “We are not finished. We are not done. There is never a done.”
