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Dear Colleagues,
It was a pleasure seeing all of you last week at our final college meeting of the academic year. I want to renew my gratitude for the busy and productive year we have spent together.
Last Monday we reviewed highlights and accomplishments of the work done by our faculty, staff, and students. The slides can be found here.
I want to celebrate the following achievements:
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Welcome to New Faculty and Staff
To those who joined us this year: Welcome again. I hope you have created a robust network of colleagues and mentors and found your work energizing and rewarding.
Tenure and Promotion
Professors Erin Kang and Minji Lee, congratulations on your tenure and promotion. This is an important milestone in your careers. I look forward to seeing and supporting your continued growth and expanding impact.
Emerita/Emeritus Status
Professors Willard Gingerich, Jessica Henry, Lois Oppenheim, Art Simon, Ken Sumner and Longxing Wei, congratulations on your new Emerita/Emeritus status. Your contributions to the college and university will be forever cherished. We look forward to continued engagement with you.
Approved Sabbaticals
Congratulations to Professors Monika Elbert, Jonathan Greenberg, Adam Rzepka, Esperanza Brizuela-Garcia, Nancy Carnavale, Julie Landweber, Ezra Rashkow, Jason Williams, Zsolt Nyiri, Samantha Eastwick, Milton Fuentes, John Soboslai, Emily Douglas, Christopher Donoghue, and Marta Lopez Lucas. I look forward to learning about your research and accomplishments.
AI Distinguished Lecture Series
Special kudos and congratulations to the CHSS team, especially Lynn Lim, Evelyn De Jesus-Quiles, Meaghan Morin, Kelly Mieth, Arnaud Kurze, and Katherine McCaffrey for running a highly successful campus-wide Distinguished Lecture Series on AI. The series attracted participants from every college and generated lively conversations. You can watch (or rewatch) these lectures on the CHSS YouTube channel.
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New Programs Launching Fall 2026
You have been actively thinking about, designing, and planning new curricula. Starting next fall, we will offer:
- MA in Criminal Justice Leadership & Innovation
- BA in Sustainable Urban Communities
- Minor in Disability Studies
- Certificate in Applied Spanish for Professions (Business, Health, Justice)
Student Advisory Board
The college's new Student Advisory Board has been at work for a semester. The students have been engaged in designing committees and plans of action for this semester and next year.
Restructuring
The college has accomplished all of this while also engaging in our restructuring efforts. We owe tremendous thanks to our department chairs and program directors for the work they have accomplished. They are now setting up the necessary infrastructure (department chair elections, PAC elections) to prepare for the July 1st transition.
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Looking Ahead
As mentioned at the meeting, we have many opportunities to gather this semester:
- University Authors - This week, April 16
- CHSS Dean Campus Interviews - April 20, 22, & 24
- ONE DAY for Montclair - April 23
- CHSS Dean Recognition Awards - May 1
- Express Yourself - May 9
- Commencement - May 12
Thank you all for everything you do.
Fatma
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Express Yourself! A Day of Creativity, Community and Discovery
Step into a world of creativity, movement and shared ideas at Express Yourself!, a vibrant day of arts, culture and creative exploration taking place on Saturday, May 9, in partnership with the Montclair Literary Festival. Open to students, faculty and the wider community, this celebration invites everyone to explore creative expression in many forms.
Throughout the day, participants can take part in hands-on workshops and interactive experiences led by artists, performers and educators from across the university. Through words, movement, music and creative practice, Express Yourself! invites us all to share experiences, learn new skills and engage with one another in meaningful ways. All workshops are open to all and free, but registration is required.
Date: Saturday, May 9, workshops all day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: Montclair Campus
More Info and Registration
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The Pursuit of Happiness and Well-Being
Join us for two short presentations by Darrin McMahon (Darmouth College) and Denise Marques (Psychology, Montclair) exploring how evolving ideas about happiness continue to shape our culture, politics, and expectations today.
Date: Monday, April 13, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Location: Zoom, Register Here
From Classroom to Community: Fostering Linguistic Inclusivity Across Campus
Join a campus-wide interdisciplinary conversation on language, identity, and community. Participating units include: Writing Studies, CLaSE, Spanish and Latino Studies, Educational Foundations, Anthropology & NAIS, World Languages & Cultures, the New Jersey Center for Indigenous Justice, and Writing Studies from BC@MSU
Date: Tuesday April 14, 11 - 1 p.m.
Location: Student Center 411- 414
Register to Attend
Made in Italy Expo
Join us for a celebration of Italian excellence and innovation, featuring local businesses dedicated to bringing authentic, high quality products to our community. Featured guests include Adamis Group, Bindi, Emilia D'Albero '15 and De Cecco Pasta.
Date: Tuesday April 14, 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Location: CELS Atrium
University Authors
Celebrate faculty and staff who have published or edited monographs, textbooks, exhibit catalogs, or produced creative works between 2024 and 2026. Colleagues will present brief highlights of their work and there will be live music performed by Montclair students. Light refreshments will be served.
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2 - 4 p.m.
Location: Sprague Library, First Floor Reading Room
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Student Awarded Competitive Critical Language Scholarship
Jacob Roby ’26, a Political Science major and Chinese minor, has been awarded the 2026 Critical Language Scholarship, a highly selective and prestigious program funded by the U.S. Department of State. The scholarship will support Roby’s participation in an intensive, immersive eight-week summer program in Mandarin at Tamkang University in New Taipei City, Taiwan, where participants complete the equivalent of one year of language study.
Teresa Fiore Gives Lecture on Food and War
Fiore gave an invited lecture at the University of Pennsylvania titled The Taste of the Landing: Food at the Time of Operation Husky in Sicily. Fiore shared a section of her research linked to Memories of the Landing, the in-progress documentary that she is working on in collaboration with Awen Films.
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Fanny Lauby (Political Science) is quoted in this TAPinto article about debate drama and shifting campaign dynamics in the NJ-11 district.
Cortni Borgerson (Anthropology) is quoted in this Mongabay article about how lemurs, threatened by deforestation, are inadvertently helping the spread of invasive guava, which is muscling out Madagascar’s forests.
Francesca Laguardia (Justice Studies) is quoted in The Guardian about the recent conviction in Texas of nine activists on terrorism and other charges that could set an alarming precedent.
Psychology Today published an article highlighting new research by Ruth Propper (Psychology) about how left-handedness in Disney princesses has evolved over time.
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⚠️ Website Overhaul: Faculty and Staff Profile Page Migration
To ensure a seamless transition of profile pages to the new website in August 2026, a “data snapshot” date has been established for all faculty and staff profiles. This snapshot allows the web team to accurately capture and migrate information to the new platform. Please review your profile page and complete any profile updates by Friday, April 24. Any updates made to your profile after this date will need to be duplicated after the new website launches in August. Not sure how to update your profile? Review our How-To Guide
Student-Led Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (SL-RSCA) Program
The Office of Research is pleased to announce the launch of the FY27 Student-Led Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (SL-RSCA) Program. Please help us distribute this information to your students and please encourage your students to apply!
Overview
The SL-RSCA program supports undergraduate and graduate student-led activities such as theses, dissertations, culminating applied projects and capstone projects in which the student has been, and will continue to be intellectually involved in the project design, execution, and dissemination of results. This program also develops RSCA leadership skills through a student committee that reviews the proposals and makes funding recommendations. Information concerning this committee will be distributed separately.
Application Deadline: April 30, 2026
Find More Information on the Program
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Coursera Career Academy Sessions
Faculty are invited to join an upcoming virtual Coursera Career Academy Enablement Sessions, held online via Zoom. These sessions are designed for faculty interested in integrating Coursera content into their courses and curriculum. Registration is required for attendance.
The session will introduce Coursera Career Academy and demonstrate how you can leverage its career‑aligned learning pathways and professional certificates to enhance your courses, enrich programs, and help students build the skills needed for today’s workforce. We will also share several use‑case scenarios, followed by time for Q&A.
Please register below:
If you have attended a Coursera Enablement Session in the past, there is no need to attend again, but you are welcome to join if you’d like a refresher or have additional questions.
Nominate a Student for the Future Student Affairs Professionals Program
The Future Student Affairs Professionals aims to educate, mentor and engage with undergraduate students who have the potential to pursue a future career in Student Affairs. Through an application process, 20 juniors and seniors will be selected to learn more about the field of Student Affairs. Participants will have the opportunity to shadow different departments, attend conferences, join committees and meet and build relationships with current professionals in different functional areas of Student Affairs. Submit a Nomination
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Join an AI Reading List
AJ Kelton is curating a living document of articles on AI in the humanities, social sciences, and/or pedagogy. The document is searchable and each entry includes a citation and a 150-word AI-generated synopsis, organized by topic headings.
If you’d like access to view the document, please complete this form.
Those with access receive a brief update on Fridays listing new articles added that week, including the citation and a 50-word summary.
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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