May 12, 2025

Dear William Paterson Faculty and Staff,

Welcome to the final week of the semester, and congratulations to everyone on your good work supporting our students! We should be especially proud of the graduates of the Class of 2025, who we will celebrate at our May 20th Undergraduate Commencement ceremony at the Prudential Center in Newark and at three Graduate Commencement ceremonies on May 22nd, here on campus.

I know it has been a very busy time for everyone. Over the past few weeks, I have personally delivered remarks at ten different events related to graduation and the end of the semester, and I’m pleased to report that over the course of some 10,000 words, my voice mostly held, only giving out a bit toward the end of this series of celebrations. I am grateful that so many of you have taken part. Please know that your presence is noticed and appreciated by our students. It makes a difference. Of course, the busy times will continue through Commencement, so I hope everyone had a chance to catch their breath over the weekend.

Looking to enrollment, Fall 2025 registration is currently open to all cohorts. As of Friday, we have 5,534 enrolled students, representing a 10.92% increase over last year. Main Campus enrollment is running 6.64% ahead of last year. Undergraduate Main Campus Continuing student enrollment stands at 2,490, which is 0.89% of this time last year. As the semester ends this week, please be sure to work with continuing students to assist with registration for the fall, as well as the summer - especially for those who may be able to take advantage of summer TAG awards. 

For new students, first-time full-time (FTFT) domestic student applications are up 5.37% compared to this time last year (8,657), and we are 91% of the way to the number of applications forecasted to yield the Fall class. Acceptances have increased by 5.37%. While dashboards will show deposits up 56.75%, it’s important to note that these may not be apt comparisons due to last year's delays in financial aid processing, which moved priority deadlines.

International student metrics are also showing positive trends, with 2,298 international FTFT applications. While international enrollment indicators remain strong, we are mindful of the potential impact that visa revocations, federal staffing levels, and visa processing delays may have on our ability to convert these applicants into enrolled students for Fall 2025. Overall, new domestic student applications for Fall 2025 have increased by 7.92%, with acceptances up 6.13%. New domestic student enrollment is up 34.85%. 

In terms of retention and persistence, we continue to track ahead, year-over-year, and are on track to meet our goal for FTFT retention, which is currently at 75.8%, and we are also ahead in persistence rates through the fourth year. Persistence rates are also up for transfer students, with the exception of one entering class, which is slightly (2%) behind.

WP: We are Proud – Congratulations to Vice President Pam Ferguson and her entire Institutional Advancement team, especially Director of Special Events Meredith Makkai, for a successful 34th Annual Legacy Award Gala on April 24th, which raised approximately $100,000 in direct scholarship support for our students! Thank you to everyone in the William Paterson community who turned out for this wonderful event to support our students while celebrating: as ‘Distinguished Alumni’, Greg Makowski ’81, founding partner and managing member of CFS Investment Advisory Services, LLC, and Dawn Makowski ’80, president of AL Alexander Agency (2nd and 3rd from right, above left photo); as ‘Distinguished Faculty/Staff’, Bill Duffy, head of cataloging and metadata for the David and Lorraine Cheng Library and a member of the William Paterson Foundation Board (far right); and as ‘Distinguished Organization’, Valley Bank, represented by Dorothy Kahlau, Patricia Davino, and Justin Black ’03 (from left).

This year’s Legacy Scholars are pictured in the above right photo. Top row, from left are: Kevin Brennan, Carissa Ostolaza, and Carmine Coscia. Bottom row, from left: Kasai Sanchez, Christina Zamor, Amjad Shehadeh, Aiden Kopec, and Teddy Lockhart.

A reminder that the summer schedule, when the University is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and closed Friday, begins next week and concludes the week of August 11th. We will return to a regular schedule the week of August 18th. I look forward to celebrating our graduates with you next week. Until then, good luck with the end of the semester.