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Dear Colleagues,
As we close our first semester together, I want again to express my deepest gratitude to all of you. You have been welcoming, generous, forgiving, and forthright with me. Working with you has been and continues to be a privilege and a learning journey.
While this semester has brought many moments of growth and connection, it has also carried profound challenges. I have been touched by your grace, especially knowing that several of you have experienced personal loss this semester. Yesterday, we announced the tragic passing of our Classics colleague Professor Renner. I am sorry that I did not get to know him. From everything I am learning about him, he seems to epitomize the highest qualities of CHSS.
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I also want to express my profound gratitude to the college’s leadership including the chairs and program directors. They have stepped forward at this critical time and committed to play a leading role in designing the internal structure of our College (see their collective statement below). Their deep disciplinary knowledge and daily operational expertise will be instrumental in the quality of this work. In assuming this responsibility, they are embodying the ownership and collaborative spirit essential to our success. I want to publicly thank them for their willingness to guide us forward with a sense of purpose and urgency.
I look forward to working closely and continuously with them as they move forward. Our commitment to consultation remains firm: we will seek and integrate input from all key stakeholders, including the faculty, staff, students, and members of the original restructuring committee. This design work will be guided by the four strategic criteria previously published, ensuring the final structure meets the long-term needs for institutional sustainability and vitality. This is a complex design challenge, and its success relies on the active contribution of many voices.
We are confident that by working together, guided by shared principles and a common purpose, we will reach a successful conclusion that preserves the strength of our disciplines and prepares the College to thrive. Following this collaborative design phase, the proposal will come to the college and university administration for final review and approval, with our full expectation and intent to endorse the chairs' collective work. This joint effort is the most constructive path forward to ensure a strong, viable future for all the disciplines within CHSS.
I wish you all a restorative holiday break and look forward to seeing you in January.
In gratitude,
Fatma
| | Statement from Department Chairs and Program Directors | | |
As department chairs and program directors, we affirm our commitment to take a leadership role in continuing the reorganization efforts.
- We commit to leading this work in coordination with college and university leadership; as leaders we will seek input from faculty, staff, students, and members of the restructuring committee.
- We support the reorganization guided by four principles:
- Maintaining disciplinary integrity and shared governance
- Maximizing interaction between disciplines and fostering cross-disciplinary innovation
- Minimizing administration and optimizing investment in faculty and student thriving
- Making the diversity of disciplines an asset in addressing societal and educational challenges
Together, we will build on and refine the work done so far by defining CHSS’s future internal structure and processes in a way that creates four entities housing all current majors and programs at CHSS, honors our disciplines, maintains the department and chair structure, and preserves an unmediated relationship between chairs and dean, enabling the college to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
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Passing of Professor Timothy Renner
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of Professor Timothy Renner, long-time member and Chair for twenty-seven years (1980-2007) of the Department of Classics and General Humanities. The department is planning a celebration of Professor Timothy Renner to be held on campus early in the Spring semester.
Read a full tribute to Professor Renner here
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Presidential Excellence Awards - 2026 Nominations Are Open
The Presidential Excellence Awards honor individuals and teams who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to Montclair's mission, excellence in their work and service to our community. These awards are intended to highlight achievements from all members of our Red Hawk community, including faculty and staff, full-time and part-time, long standing and newly arrived. Together, we will continue our mission to make Montclair an inclusive and accessible University that creates transformative educational opportunities for students across the globe.
If you have any questions, please contact Mark Allman, Senior Advisor to the President, at allmanm@montclair.edu. Nominations close Friday, January 23 at 5:00 p.m.
To submit a nomination, please use the form linked here.
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AI Distinguished Speaker Series
As the fall semester of our AI Distinguished Speaker Series draws to a close, we are grateful to everyone who joined us for the inaugural three lectures. Together, the talks examined what meaningful AI literacy looks like across different contexts, how generative AI tools shape public understanding and trust, and where the limits of AI become clear when compared with human imagination and innovation. If you missed a session or want to revisit the conversations, you can view all three recordings via the links below.
We’ll be back in February with more speakers and new perspectives — stay tuned!
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Montclair Partners with ACUE to Enhance Excellence in Teaching and Student Support
Montclair has been selected as a participant in the Carnegie Corporation of New York Initiative for Deliberative Dialogue in partnership with The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). As part of this initiative, all faculty and staff will have the opportunity to complete the Deliberative Dialogue series via the ACUE Commons and a selected group will be able to earn ACUE’s Certificate in Effective Teaching. Faculty and staff will also be able to access several other quick study courses as part of the ACUE Commons, including courses in Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education.
Apply to Enroll in ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practices Course
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Click here to learn more and to apply.
- Please note that space is limited to 45 participants this year, and selections will be made based on distribution across departments and faculty roles to ensure broad participation.
- Course begins January 26, 2026.
Activate Your ACUE Commons Account
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In the next month, look for an invitation from ACUE – email address support@acue.org – to activate your account and join this virtual teaching community.
- Explore the menu of one-hour Quick Studies on emerging topics, with special emphasis on completing the five-part Deliberative Dialogue series.
Please reach out to John David Yi, Director of Teaching & Learning for The Center for Teaching and Academic Innovation, should you have any questions.
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Kudos is a space to celebrate one another—whether it’s expressing gratitude to a colleague, sharing milestones, or recognizing accomplishments and awards. Help us spotlight the people and moments that matter: send us your Kudos for an upcoming edition.
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To Lucy Takagi (Social Work and Child Advocacy), who has been selected as the only clinical psychologist to provide up to ten hours/month of professional emergency telehealth services to Brazilian citizens living in the following jurisdictions under the purview of the Brazilian Consulate in Washington DC: District of Columbia, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. In addition, she will also be developing educational videos on mental health disorders and consulate services.
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To Erin Kang (Psychology), who received the 2025 Outstanding Mentor Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Autism Special Interest Group, in recognition of significant contribution and personal development of mentees in the Autism field.
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To Patricia Matthew (English), who was a featured in the Encyclopedia Britannica's video celebrating Jane Austen's birthday and included in a Smithsonian Magazine story about Pride and Prejudice.
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To Pascale LaFountain and Thomas Herold (World Languages and Cultures) gave an invited lecture at Princeton University entitled "Beyond Putting Out Fires: Developing a Proactive Toolbox for World Language Program Sustainability"
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Daniela Peterka-Benton (Justice Studies) and Bond Benton (Strategic Communication) have been quoted in Rolling Stone Magazine and The Chicago Tribune on the dramatic increase in content containing the “R-Word” slur on X after Donald Trump’s Thanksgiving Day Truth Social post used the word. Benton and Peterka-Benton recently published research on the topic for the Center for Strategic Communication.
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The Daily Mail published an article about research published by Gabriel Rubin (Justice Studies) on Gen Z.
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Prudence Jones (Classics and General Humanities) is quoted in this Live Science article about how history would have unfolded if Antony and Cleopatra had defeated Octavian.
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Michael Bixter (Psychology) is quoted in this NJ.com special report about a New Jersey woman who was scammed out of millions.
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CHSS Resource Guide
This guide is designed to support our faculty, instructors, and staff by providing quick access to the tools, policies, and information you need to carry out your work effectively. Inside, you’ll find resources on office operations, administrative processes, technology support, and campus services all in one place. Whether you’re new or a tenured colleague, this guide will help you throughout the academic year. If you have a question and cannot find the answer in this guide, or don’t know who to contact, start with the Administrative Services Team.
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