Celebrating Our Fifth President

Some 1,200 people from Stockton’s past, present and future gathered Sept. 23 on the Galloway, N.J. campus to celebrate the inauguration of Harvey Kesselman, a member of Stockton’s first class in 1971 who rose to become the university’s fifth president.

Keynote speaker Jon Blair, an Academy-Award-winning film director and producer, noted Kesselman's unusual career path: "To the best of my knowledge, he is the only university president in the entire United States who has done the equivalent of what in my trade would be starting out in the post room on the very first day the institution came into being, and then rising over the years to run the place. It is a phenomenon common enough in commerce, but unique in academe."

Kesselman told the community: “I have had a front-row seat as the institution first defined its mission, and I’ve watched it grow and develop and respond to changes in education, industry, our region, and society. I am deeply humbled and extraordinarily proud to be in a position to ensure that a Stockton degree becomes more valuable each and every day of my presidency.”

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