Arts Programs Receive More Than $500,000 from State Council

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts awarded more than $500,000 to Stockton to support arts programs last summer.

The grants include a record amount of $145,730 for the University’s Performing Arts Center, $56,030 for the Noyes Museum of Art at Stockton University and $300,000 for the co-sponsored “State of the Arts” television program that airs weekly on New Jersey Public Broadcasting Service. The money will be renewed annually for the next three years.

The grants are part of more than $30 million the council awarded to approximately 900 arts organizations, projects and artists throughout the state. The funding comes from the revenue generated through the state’s hotel/motel occupancy fee.

“The investment made in our state’s artists and organizations has a direct, positive impact on New Jersey residents, families, businesses and communities,” said Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who oversees the council in her role as Secretary of State. “It’s an honor to work closely with the council to help our state’s creative industries thrive, and to ensure New Jersey’s diverse constituencies can access the many benefits of the arts.”

Michael Cagno, the executive director of the Noyes Museum, said the funding will help support a variety of exhibitions and programs with community partners at the museum’s locations in Kramer Hall in Hammonton and at the Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University in Atlantic City.  

Board of Trustees Approves $294 Million Operating Budget

The Stockton University Board of Trustees approved the 2024-25 operating budget at the July 17, 2024, meeting.

The board approved the capital budget and a $294.7 million 2024-25 operating budget. The budget reflected the University’s commitment to institutional aid with $28 million available in merit and need-based aid to students, an increase of 39%— or $7.8 million—over the previous year.

Stockton received a record $45.109 million in state aid from the fiscal year 2025 budget approved by the New Jersey Legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in June 2024. The funding is a 7% increase from 2024’s $42.179 million and is critical to facing significant inflationary cost increases the University has experienced.  

“Paramount was the preservation of the $4.612 million for the Atlantic City campus and, with the help of Sen. Vince Polistina, that funding was included in the governor’s budget,” President Joe Bertolino said. “I would like to express our sincere appreciation to Sen. Polistina, Assemblywoman Claire Swift, and Assemblyman Don Guardian for voting in support of the FY25 State Budget containing Stockton’s appropriation.”  

Stockton’s new budget also set tuition and fees for the 2024-25 academic year at $8,133 per semester for in-state, full-time students. The University’s flat-rate tuition plan allows full-time students to take up to 20 credits per semester at no additional cost, potentially saving thousands of dollars.