For Immediate Release

 

Contact:         Maryjane Briant
                        News and Media Relations Director
                        Galloway, N.J. 08205
                        Maryjane.Briant@stockton.edu
                        (609) 652-4593
                        stockton.edu/media

Galloway, N.J. - Stockton University and President Harvey Kesselman were honored with a Best Practices in Leadership award from the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) and its partner, COMMERCE Magazine this week.

As part of the salute to leadership, COMMERCE Magazine Editor Miles Epstein asked business executives to share thoughts on the subject for the magazine’s annual Best Practices Guide. This year’s edition featured advice from 100 chief executive officers, managing partners and business owners.

Stockton was recognized for its practices of seeking input from stakeholders, collaboration and open communications. Susan Davenport, executive vice president of the university and chief of staff, accepted the award on Kesselman’s behalf.

 “We formed a Task Force on Shared Governance, which includes a trustee and faculty, staff, students and administrators, to create opportunities for joint planning and communicating decisions with all stakeholders in the university and the larger community,” Kesselman explained in the guide. “We have held a series of open forums for faculty, staff and students to share their concerns and perspectives with board members and me, helping to foster a collaborative culture.

“A second taskforce, on Atlantic City Initiatives, has been integral to developing a public-private partnership to create a residential campus in Atlantic City,” Kesselman noted “This will help advance our mission of providing high-quality educational opportunities for a diverse student body.”

More than 150 executives attended the Sept. 13 conference in Belleville, N.J., which featured a keynote speech from Jonathan Gilliam, a national security expert and former U.S. Navy SEAL, who often appears as a CNN commentator.

He urged the business executives to motivate their teams. “Leaders are made, some are self-made. But many are taught by mentors. There’s no doubt in my mind that leaders are not born – it takes time to cultivate a leader.”

Martin Kafafian, managing partner at the Beattie Padovano law firm, who chairs the CIANJ board of directors, opened the program, and said: “It makes so much sense to focus on best practice because they are at the core of what we do at Commerce and Industry Association. CIANJ is all about helping business grow and thrive. What better way to accomplish that, than to share best practices, the experience – the knowledge and lessons learned by running a business.”

Best Practice Awards were given to over 30 higher education and business leaders selected by a blue-ribbon panel of judges assembled by CIANJ.

CIANJ President John Galandak said this year’s judges included:  Dennis Bone, head of the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship at Montclair State University; Rob Ffield, a former commander of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight squad, who was also our keynote speaker last year; Bill Hanson, president of NAI James E. Hanson; Debbie Hart, president of BioNJ; Dean Paranicas, president and CEO of the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey; and Dean Siamack Shojai of the business school at William Paterson University.

For more information about Stockton University, visit Stockton.edu.