Simulated Emergency On-Campus Prepares Nursing Students

Shrill screams from the Unified Science Center (USC) pierced the quiet calm of a Saturday afternoon on Stockton’s Galloway campus.

Students and community members covered in dark red and brown face paint soon poured out of the building, some shouting “Help!” while others held their faces and bodies in feigned agony.

Soon, students of Stockton’s Nursing program were on the scene, brandishing first-aid kits and triage tags as the campus’ second-annual Mass Casualty Drill got underway on Saturday, May 3.

The students’ calm replaced the noise of chaos as they soothed and treated their patients. “Can you see me? Can you hear me? Let’s move to a quieter spot.”

Low-priority patients were gathered into categories ranging from “good” to “slightly injured” on the quad, while high-priority patients were led to a “decontamination station” on the other side of the USC or transported via stretcher to the “emergency room” in the John F. Scarpa Health Sciences Center’s simulation labs modeled after real clinical/examination rooms.

According to Simulation Coordinator Ken Davis, this specific experience was designed to expose Nursing students, who are usually interested in and hired into various fields such as med-surg and pediatrics, to emergencies “in the field,” fostering mutual respect and understanding between service providers.

“Health care providers don’t typically see the car entrapments or the explosions. They just see the patients packaged and bandaged, taking them from there. This exposes them to what they don’t see outside of the walls (of the ER) during the platinum 10,” Davis said, referencing the first 10 minutes following an incident or injury.

The exercise also demonstrated how much of a collaborative effort emergency situations can become. In addition to the Stockton Nursing faculty, individuals from Galloway EMS and the Galloway Township Fire Department provided guidance and instructed students on proper equipment usage.

They allowed the students to practice with equipment and tools, such as stretchers and neck collars, and the fire department allowed them to tour their mobile decontamination shower fashioned out of a gutted fire truck. 

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Stockton to Provide Free Parkinson’s Disease Speech Therapy

The Speech and Hearing Clinic at Stockton University will provide free therapy to people with Parkinson’s Disease through a five-year grant from the Parkinson Voice Project announced in April.

“Parkinson Voice Project is proud to partner with Stockton University to help individuals with Parkinson’s across the state regain and retain their speech and swallowing abilities,” said Samantha Elandary, founder and CEO of the Texas-based nonprofit.

Parkinson’s Disease is the world’s fastest growing neurological disorder and the second-most prevalent brain disease in the United States.

There are SPEAK OUT! Therapy & Research Centers in 28 states throughout the country with the goal to make SPEAK OUT! Therapy accessible to every American. Parkinson Voice Project chose Stockton as New Jersey’s SPEAK OUT! Therapy and Research Center.

The nonprofit will provide $50,000 in cash plus free training for all of Stockton's faculty and students over a five-year period through the center, which will be located at the University’s existing clinic at 10 W. Jimmie Leeds Road in Galloway. All New Jerseyans will be able to receive in-person and remote speech treatment at no cost. The center will also provide research and clinical opportunities for Stockton students.

“We are just over the moon with the excitement and the possibilities of this,” said Kelly Maslanik, a clinical specialist in Stockton’s Communication Sciences and Disorders program. She will run the center with Assistant Professor Michelle Swartz.  

“We want to make this a warm and wonderful place, not only for the patients, but for our students and for the community,” Maslanik said. 

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Bjork Library Earns National Excellence Award

Stockton University’s Richard E. Bjork Library was one of only 34 higher education facilities across the country to receive a 2025 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) award last January by Insight into Diversity magazine.

The annual award honors academic library programs, policies and initiatives that encourage and support inclusive excellence and belonging across their campus and surrounding community.

Insight into Diversity is the nation’s largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education and is a leader in recognizing inclusive excellence in higher education through its awards.

“This achievement is a testament to our commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all,” said Cheyenne Riehl, Stockton’s student success librarian. “This award reflects the hard work and dedication of our entire library team and our shared vision of serving as a resource and advocate for all members of the Stockton community.”

Stockton’s library is undergoing a massive, two-year renovation financed by a $19.5 million state bond. The renovation will transform the three-story, 100,000 square-foot space in the middle of the Galloway campus into a library learning commons that will be a place for students to gather for meetings, participate in experiential learning opportunities, and work with archival materials and primary sources. Construction is expected to be completed by June 2026 with the renovated library opening in fall 2026. 

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Maple Syrup Project Continues to Grow Thanks to New Federal Grant

After more than 12,000 gallons of sap collected and more than 150 gallons of maple syrup created, Stockton has proved that Vermont isn’t the only place in the United States that can make a sweet breakfast brew.

Now, it’s time to see what else the Stockton Maple Project can make with its maple syrup. And that will require some partners.

Five years after its start thanks to a series of federal grants, the project received another nearly $500,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. This grant will primarily go toward improving the marketing of domestic-made maple syrup both in New Jersey and in Vermont, said Judy Vogel, the project’s director.

“While the first two grants (totaling nearly $1 million) were really focused on production and research involved in production, with the new amount we use that knowledge to focus on direct-to-consumer consumption,” Vogel said. “It’s about increasing consumer awareness now of maple syrup and promoting the sale of domestic maple syrup, whether it’s ours or Vermont’s.”

Vogel added, “the South Jersey consumer is really underinformed about maple syrup.” Not just in how it’s produced, but in the fact that most of what we put on our pancakes and waffles isn’t true maple syrup but a manufactured syrup substitute.

Stockton’s Maple Project wants to educate New Jerseyans by partnering with Vermont maple syrup producers and creating a new pipeline that will sell more U.S. maple syrup in New Jersey. 

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Constitution Day Speaker Explores Voting Rights

The United States Constitution does not guarantee individuals the right to vote. That came as a surprise to the crowd at the 19th annual Constitution Day lecture held last September in the Campus Center Event Room.

Holding one of the pocket copies of the U.S. Constitution distributed to all attendees, election law expert Richard L. Hasen challenged anyone to show him where the Constitution gives Americans voting rights.

“Where we live tells us a big part of how protected our right to vote is. There is no affirmative right to vote in the Constitution,” Hasen said, noting America’s founders made voting a states’ right.

Hasen delivered the annual keynote address based on his book “A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy.” Hasen is the Gary T. Schwartz Endowed Chair in Law, Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law. He also writes the Election Law Blog, which tracks current developments in voting rights and access around the country.

“As an institution of higher education, it is our responsibility to provide the setting for democratic participation; to offer opportunities for our students and our community to converse with those with differing viewpoints and life experiences,” Stockton President Joe Bertolino said in introducing Hasen. “The Stockton community is one that values inclusivity, providing an environment where all voices can be heard.”

Throughout his lecture, Hasen examined the U.S. Constitution, its lack of an affirmative right to vote, and how this absence of affirmation leaves American democracy vulnerable and negatively impacts every citizen. 

Workshop Provides ‘Eye-opening’ Fun for Disability Studies Students

Dana Grasso became a little sentimental when talking about Stockton University’s first Access to Art Disabilities Workshop with the Atlantic County Special Services School.

“I know that one parent shared with the teachers that they were very emotional because they felt as though this was the only opportunity their young adult would have to be on a college campus, and it was really meaningful for them to have this opportunity,” said the teaching specialist in the University’s School of Education.

Grasso helped organize the visit of about 40 Special Services students  to take part in the Access to Art program. Access to Art was created last year by the Noyes Museum of Art of Stockton University thanks to $70,000 in funds from the Atlantic Center for Independent Living (ACIL), a Galloway-based nonprofit that advocates and provides life skills training and services for people with disabilities.

“These kids don’t get the opportunity to do stuff like this very often,” said Christen Vogel, a teacher in the multiple disabilities department at Atlantic County Special Services. “They were very excited about it. All the kids couldn’t wait to come. They were just excited to even be on the bus. When we got here, they all said, ‘We’re at Stockton!’”

Once they arrived, the Special Services students were paired up with about 50 Stockton students from the University’s Disability Studies minor to help create clay versions of the school’s mascot — the osprey. Michael Cagno, the executive director of the Noyes Museum, said he looked for a project that would be adaptable and flexible since the Special Services students have a wide range of individual disabilities.

“You are watching the enthusiasm of both college and elementary school students coming together and bonding over the process of creating art,” Cagno said. 

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Statewide Child Welfare Education Program Celebrates 20 Years

More than 20 years ago, the unsettling case of 7-year-old Faheem Williams’ remains being found in a Newark basement sent shock waves throughout New Jersey’s child welfare system, leading to calls for major structural and programmatic reforms.

Stockton and several higher education institutions in New Jersey accepted the challenge and formed a consortium to support the next generation of social workers through financial and academic assistance.

Since then, Stockton’s Child Welfare Education Institute (CWEI) has continued to lead the federal- and state-funded Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program (BCWEP) and has provided tuition and valuable internship experience within the Division of Child Protection & Permanency (DCP&P) for more than 600 eligible undergraduate Social Work students statewide.

During the program's 20th anniversary recognition ceremony on April 11, Stockton Provost Michael Palladino called the partnership between the consortium, the New Jersey Department of Children & Families (DCF) and the NJ chapter of the National Association of Social Workers “vital for social work education.”

“Stockton has always taken great pride in its role as a community-centered Anchor Institution, and in so many ways, the work of the center that Dr. (Dawn) Konrady Fanslau oversees and programs such as BCWEP exemplify Stockton’s commitment to its community,” Palladino said.

In Sept. 2004, Karolyn Peterson, a 2005 alumna of Stockton’s undergraduate Social Work program, was asked to talk about her aspirations for the state’s child welfare system during a news conference Stockton held after receiving a $500,000 federal grant toward social work education.

In her remarks on April 11, she reminisced on the impact that Williams’ case had on her and the 13 other students selected to receive a scholarship, and how the program helped her with the various roles she has held within the child welfare system.

“When I heard Faheem Williams’ name, I teared up a bit, because it brought back all of the memories – it broke our hearts back then, which is why we were all so passionate about coming into this work,” said Peterson, who is currently an intake supervisor for DCP&P's Cumberland West’s local office in Bridgeton. “We knew that we needed people who were trained to understand familial dynamics and what people have gone through, without holding that against them, to strengthen and save familial bonds.” 

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Students Take Advantage of Scholarly Presentation Opportunities

Stockton Scholars Present at National Conference

Three Stockton students — Ivanna Taveras, Nana-Akosua Oduro and Taina Altagracia-Paris — returned from the 2025 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting in Denver as presenters, sharing how their experience at the 2024 annual meeting transformed their academic and professional paths. Last year’s Compass Fund project, “Future Educators Get Inspired,” enabled the group to attend the 2024 meeting.

The AERA Annual Meeting is the largest gathering of scholars in education research. Held each spring, it brings together researchers, policymakers and practitioners from around the world to present studies, discuss pressing issues in education, and explore innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

The students’ presentation, “Empowering First-Generation Future Educators of Color: Reflections on Their First AERA Annual Meeting Experience,” offered insights into how attending AERA strengthened their sense of purpose, expanded their educational networks, and deepened their commitment to equity and inclusion in education.

Ian Bouie, director of Academic Achievement Programs at Stockton, accompanied the students, noting, “Their session was well-received and marked a proud moment for Stockton, highlighting the University’s ongoing commitment to supporting first-generation students and amplifying underrepresented voices in the field of education.”  

The Student Travel Fund, Academic Achievement Programs, and the School of Education sponsored this year’s trip. The paper was co-authored by Kimberly Dickerson, interim dean of the School of Education, and Camryn Wilson, another student participant in last year’s Compass Fund project. Unfortunately, Dickerson and Wilson were unable to attend this year’s conference.

“Last year, they attended as learners, absorbing knowledge about cutting-edge research and best practices. This year, they returned as researchers themselves, proudly stepping into the scholarly community and sharing their own work and insights. Experiences like this not only validate their academic potential but also expand their sense of possibility for the future,” Bouie concluded. 

MSOT Students Present Research at National Conference

All 56 current Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) students from Stockton attended the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) annual national conference, AOTA INSPIRE 2025, held in Philadelphia from April 3–5.

With over 8,000 occupational therapy practitioners and students in attendance, the event offered a dynamic environment for learning and professional development.

Two student groups from Stockton had the opportunity to present their research posters at the conference.

Christopher Shaw and Keishla Sanchez presented “Get FIT: A Health and Wellness Program Designed for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD).”

Casey Liming, Courtney Masker, Thayana Ascencio-Cruz, Emily Green and Bethannie Lopez presented their poster, “Living the High Life: The Effects of Cannabis on Health Management in Adults.”

“The students had the opportunity to attend a variety of sessions, from workshops to poster sessions. All offered opportunities for the students to integrate classroom learning and network with OT practitioners from around the country,” said Mary Kientz, associate professor of Occupational Therapy at Stockton. 

Africana Studies Students Present Research at National Event

Six Stockton students in the Africana Studies program attended the 49th annual National Council for Black Studies Conference in Cincinnati this March: Guivenchiali Saint Jean, Jalynne Smith, Keisha Richards, Krisandra Bagaloo, Rachel Dunlap, and Lilly Nickens.

Stockton’s Africana Studies program, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024, is affiliated with the National Council for Black Studies, Inc. This partnership provides students in the Africana Studies program opportunities such as attending the March 19-22 conference as a part of their continued partnership with the University.

The students in attendance explored the themes of solidarity, power and Pan-Africanism in the 21st century, networked with other students and presented their research on topics such as the impact of the foster care system on Black children, Black hair and environmental racism.

“It is a great networking opportunity,” said Donnetrice Allison, chair of Stockton’s Africana Studies program, which includes major and minor options. “It gives them scholarly presentation experience, and it also exposes them to great scholars and other students across the country.”

The experience of attending the national conference was meaningful for the student leaders who attended.