Galloway, N.J. — “Stockton always ran through her veins.”

That’s how James Farris best described his mother, Vera King Farris, the third president of Stockton University. He grew up on the campus of Richard Stockton College of New Jersey during the 20 years his mother was president from 1983 to 2003.

“Failure on the path to a goal was education, not fatal. That powered her every day of those 20 years,” he said during a recorded message played for about 100 people who gathered in the university’s Campus Center Theatre on June 16. “She loved this place. That love and the people it attracted turned a little-regarded party school in the pines into a nationally ranked environment for excellence where soaring higher is an everyday occurrence.”

The crowd gathered to watch the premiere of “Leading Change,” a new documentary about President Farris and how her vision, resilience and commitment to equity transformed the university. She was the first female Black president of a New Jersey public college and one of the first in the nation. The screening, which was followed by extended applause from the audience, was the culmination of more than nine months of work by nine students and alum Nicholas Georgel ’19, an employee in Stockton’s Production Services department.

“Tonight is more than a screening. It’s a moment of remembrance, gratitude and celebration,” said current Stockton President Joe Bertolino. “It is an opportunity to reflect on the life and legacy of a trailblazing leader whose vision helped shape Stockton into the university we are today.”

The project began in the spring 2025 semester as an initiative for students who work in the president’s office, said Heather Watkins, deputy chief of staff. After spending half the semester sifting through about 20 boxes of presidential papers provided by Special Collections Librarian Heather Perez, the students presented their findings to Terricita Sass, the university’s executive vice president and chief of staff.

“When they did, I was astonished,” Sass said. “As I sat there in the president’s conference room listening to these young people relive Vera King Farris through the archives, I got goosebumps, and it was a watershed moment for me.”

Sass charged the students with figuring out the best way to present what Farris meant to Stockton’s history. The students pulled photos from the university’s archive and interviewed employees, friends, family members and those on whom Farris left an indelible mark. Many were featured in the documentary, including Brian Jackson, Stockton’s vice president for Community Engagement, who also led a panel discussion about Farris’ legacy after the screening.

“Dr. Farris always said that coming to Stockton was like coming home because she had so many friends and family in the area (she grew up in Atlantic City),” Jackson said. “Stockton was only 10 years old when she became president, but she saw great possibilities. She implemented a number of innovative programs and initiatives that became hallmarks of Stockton’s education.”

Some of those during her 20-year presidential term included:

• Increasing enrollment 146% from 2,600 students to 6,400 students.
• Increasing the average SAT scores by 29% from 890 to 1,150 SAT points.
• Adding the school’s first six master’s degree programs, including the first Master in Holocaust and Genocide Studies in the United States.
• Helping to establish the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center.
• Developing the school’s first Student Affairs division.
• Overseeing the construction of 10 new buildings, including Lakeside Lodge, the Sports Center and the Arts and Sciences Building.

“Simply put, Dr. Farris achieved the goal she set for herself when she accepted the position as Stockton’s president — to increase the value of the Stockton college degree for our students and alumni each year,” Jackson said.

While she definitively improved the infrastructure and educational offerings at Stockton, George Pruitt, a former president of Thomas Edison State University and a friend and colleague, said during the panel discussion that Farris, more importantly, had a vision for what Stockton could become.

“It was Vera who came up with the why there was a Stockton. She had a vision about what this learning community stuck in the middle of the Pine Barrens could be. And she created this powerful community that people from all over the state wanted to be a part of,” Pruitt said. “She raised the bar. She raised the standards. She demanded that people came up to her standards because the students deserved that.”

Pruitt said Farris’ open-door style of management endeared her to her students and employees. Distinguished Professor of Physical Therapy Mary Lou Galantino talked during the panel discussion about how Farris “embodied unconditional love as a leader.” Galantino told the audience a story about how Farris, a single mother, consoled her when she became a new mom.

“She coached me at times and she became that confidant,” Galantino said. “That ability to mix the beauty of continued commitment to my growth, our collective growth, and then she saw that in the children that would come to this campus. She would cultivate the next generation every time. That’s what she lived for.”

Recent graduate Melanie Chin, the former student representative on Stockton’s Board of Trustees, is part of the next generation that Farris still inspires today. She worked on the documentary, and although she didn’t meet Farris before her death in 2009, she found her story impactful.

“I didn’t know Dr. Farris (in person), but I know her because everyone sitting in this room had a story to tell and they told every story with so much love and so much remembrance and joy,” said Chin, who added that Farris was responsible for instituting the student Board of Trustees position. “The people that are here are the ones who tell the story, and they passed it down to us.”

Bertolino said that Farris opened doors, challenged expectations and led with intellect, courage, grace and purpose.

“Her legacy still lives here,” he said. “It lives in our students, who bring their full selves to this community. It lives in our faculty and staff, who lead with purpose and an Ethic of Care, and it lives in our commitment to being a community of opportunity, where every student is seen, supported and challenged to thrive.”

The other students involved in the documentary include Angel Elefante, Nyla Johnson, Sarah Kropinack, Christian Lopez, Condoleezza Scott, Jamiah Bailey, Nana Otoo and Elizabeth Macklin.

The university will host another screening of the documentary for students and the general public at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in the Campus Center Theatre.

— Story by Mark Melhorn, photos by Abbigail Erbacher