December 4, 2023

Dear William Paterson Faculty and Staff, 

This is my final update email of the Fall semester. As we enter the final stretch, it’s time to look ahead to the period between its close and the time when we will begin preparing in earnest for the Spring 2024 semester. Beginning the week of Monday, December 18, 2023 and continuing through the week of Monday, January 15, eligible staff can make arrangements with their supervisors to combine remote work days with their on-campus work, provided all offices have the necessary operational coverage at all times. As was the case last year, our goal is to take advantage of the time our students are away from campus to give employees greater flexibility over the holiday period while ensuring that our important work continues.

Divisions/departments may adopt the “Black and Orange” schedule (alternating weeks with 3 remote days followed by weeks with 2 remote days) to accomplish this or other models that supervisors think best meet their particular operational needs. Vice Presidents and department heads will work with staff to determine the best arrangement and timeframe for each operational area. As was communicated previously, the University will be closed from Saturday, December 23, 2023, through Monday, January 1, 2024, reopening on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. The Spring semester begins on Thursday, January 25, 2024.

Congratulations and thanks to the Office of Admissions and everyone on campus who supported another successful Fall Open House last month, when we welcomed 507 prospective students – a nearly 16% increase over last year’s November event. While we were fortunate to have great weather, the real energy came from our student panel and the interactions that our more than 1,500 total guests had with faculty and staff.

Thanks also to Director Patrick Noonan, Program Assistant Cindy McCann, and Program Assistant Eileen Hayes of the Office of Transfer Programs and Special Sessions, for their work in hosting approximately 500 dual-enrollment students during the same period. Together, approximately 1,000 prospective full-time WP students visited campus over the course of one week in November, which is very promising for Fall 2024 enrollment.   

A reminder that we are less than a month away from the launch of Workday, our new system for HR and Finance, which is going live on January 1, 2024. The system will actually be available on December 16 for employees to enter time-tracking and absence information in advance of the full launch. I encourage everyone to register for the available series of Workday Prep courses. You can also check out the Workday Project Page, where you will find Quick Reference Guides and Workday Prep session recordings.

Please be mindful of the fact that the Workday implementation is a very large and complex undertaking. Any implementation of this scale will inevitably have many issues to resolve once it goes live. When you encounter a problem, please help the implementation team to resolve it by creating a Workday ticket. With your help, Workday will empower us all to work more efficiently and effectively. 

WP: We are Proud – On Thursday, the William Paterson community celebrated the power of student scholarships with the 25^th Scholarship Dinner in the University Center Ballrooms. It was a wonderful opportunity for donors and scholars to connect, and there was an inspiring energy in the room and a strong sense of Pioneer spirit. Congratulations to Vice President Pam Ferguson and her Institutional Advancement team, especially Director of Donor Relations Mariel Read Essner, for putting on this big event. Most of all, thanks to the many generous donors who support student scholarships and our amazing students, who use them to accomplish great things. Thanks, in particular, to sophomore Aliza Nanku, recipient, and Mark DeZao ’83 (pictured above with Denise DeZao), funder of the Purple Thread Sunrise Scholarship, for sharing their stories with dinner guests.

As I mentioned in my remarks, for the current academic year, we anticipate awarding 750 scholarships totaling approximately $1.6 million. That’s 25% more scholarships delivering approximately 50% more dollar support just since my first year as President in 2018-19.

Earlier in the evening, we cut the ribbon on the Allan and Michele Gorab Alumni Center, the new Student Center location of our Office of Alumni Relations. Thanks to the Gorabs for their ongoing support, and congratulations to Executive Director Jenna Villani and the Alumni Relations team for hosting a lovely event for our alumni and friends in their new home.

Have a great end of the semester!