Stockton University News - February 2016
Dear Alumni and Friends,
Greetings from Stockton University! Earlier this year, we kicked off our Presidential Vision Tour in Philadelphia and made three stops in Florida. Our journey across the states will continue in New York City on Wednesday, March 9 and San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, March 11. I have enjoyed sharing our distinctive vision for the future, as well as the many accomplishments of our students, faculty and staff during my time on the road. Here are just a few highlights of what has been happening at Stockton:
Stockton Selected for Nationwide Higher Education Initiative
The University is participating in a three-year project aimed at transforming the first year of college to enhance students’ success in their undergraduate years and in the 21st-century workplace.
Stockton University was recently selected by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) to participate in the three-year “Re-Imagining the First Year of College” (RFY) project, a sweeping initiative aimed at transforming the first year of college to enhance students’ success in their undergraduate years and in the 21st century workplace.
The first year of college has emerged as the critical barrier to student success,
the point at
which undergraduate institutions experience the greatest loss of students. The objective
of the RFY project is to help project participants – and ultimately the broader AASCU
membership of 420 state colleges and universities – to implement changes that enhance
the first-year student experience and increase student retention and graduation rates,
particularly among historically underserved populations.
Attracting and retaining students, particularly low income, first generation, and students of color who are included in this AASCU program, is crucial to ensuring that the future of higher education remains not only relevant but also accessible to all.
As one of 44 institutions nationwide chosen for AASCU’s RFY project, Stockton will select and implement proven, innovative strategies and programs, adapting them to the campus’s unique environment and needs. The evidence-based strategies focus on four core areas to help first-year students succeed: institutional intentionality – mission-based initiatives; curricula; faculty and staff roles; and student roles.
AASCU kicked off the RFY initiative with academic leaders at the association’s 2016 Academic Affairs Winter Meeting.
Susan Davenport, interim provost and executive vice president; Peter Baratta, chief planning officer; Michelle McDonald, interim assistant provost; Sonia Gonsalves, professor of Psychology and director of Academic Assessment; and Lolita Treadwell, executive assistant to the provost, represented Stockton University at the Winter Meeting held in Austin, Texas from Feb. 4-6.
Davenport, Baratta and Treadwell led a joint presentation titled, “Empowering Students and Faculty to Create Opportunities for Success,” which addressed funding initiatives that encourage faculty and students to work together in undergraduate research, travel and pilot projects. Examples included Stockton’s 2020 Initiative, the Research Experiences for Undergraduates, Student Travel Fund, and Activist-in-Residence programs.
Stockton Welcomes New Board of Trustees Members
Ellen Bailey, Esq., a member of the firm Eckert, Seamans, Cherin and Mellott, LLC; Andy Dolce, founder
and chairman emeritus of Dolce Hotels and Resorts; and Meg Worthington, a commercial/residential
real estate agent and management consultant, were sworn into office on Feb. 24.
Please join me in welcoming three new members to the Stockton University Board of Trustees. Ellen Bailey, Esq., Andy Dolce and Meg Worthington were recently appointed by the N.J. Governor’s Office and were sworn into office at the Feb. 24 board meeting.
Their talents, energy and career achievements will add a new dimension to our leadership team. We are honored that each of these tremendous individuals is willing to give of their time as Stockton moves into the next phase
Ellen Bailey, Esq., a member of the firm of Eckert, Seamans, Cherin and Mellott, LLC, focuses her practice primarily on business litigation, with an emphasis in the areas of general commercial litigation, mass tort litigation, and product liability. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable John E. Wallace, Jr. (ret.) of the New Jersey Supreme Court and as a legal intern for both the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Yvonne Mokgoro of the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Johannesburg. Prior to joining private practice, Bailey was an assistant prosecutor with the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. She worked in Stockton’s President’s Office and is the first former staff member to become a trustee.
Bailey holds a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law and obtained her B.A. from Drew University. She is licensed to practice law in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bailey’s professional affiliations include: the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and American Bar Associations; and she serves as a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Litigation Section Council; Pennsylvania Bar Association Quality of Life/Balance Committee; Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession Executive Council; and the Stockton University Foundation.
Andy Dolce is founder and chairman emeritus of Dolce Hotels and Resorts. Among many accomplishments, Dolce is most widely known for elevating the meeting and conference center model to reflect clients’ needs for environments that inspire creativity and learning. He also holds the distinction of being named one of the “25 Most Influential Executives” in the meetings and travel industries by both Meeting News and Business Travel News magazines.
Dolce studied Economics at Iona College, earning a B.A. degree. He later earned a master’s degree from Cornell University in Applied Economic Management where he wrote and published a book on economics for the food industry. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps and retired with the rank of captain.
He is past president of the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC) and Mel Hosansky Award recipient, the highest honor in the conference center industry. Dolce also was most recently awarded the IACC Global distinguished service for his work in putting IACC Global together. Dolce is on the board of New York University’s Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Travel administration and serves on Iona College’s Legal Board of Trustees. He served as executive-in-residence at Cornell University Hotel School and serves as chairman of the advisory board of Stockton’s Lloyd D. Levenson Institute for Gaming, Hospitality & Tourism. He is also currently involved with Operation Smile Medical Mission in Central and South America.
Dolce began his career in the meetings and hospitality industry at the American Management Association, where he managed 600 conferences per year throughout the U.S. During his tenure with the AMA, Dolce experienced the insufficient services and often counter-productive facilities that permeated the meetings and conference market. Shortly thereafter, he started working for Harrison Conference Centers as the executive vice president and improved the company’s brand by pioneering the first “Complete Meetings Package” for the conference industry.
In 1981, he founded Dolce International and turned it into the world’s leading hospitality
organization specializing in delivering an exceptional hospitality experience. To
prepare the company for even greater success, in mid-2008, Dolce International changed
its name to Dolce Hotels and Resorts to more accurately reflect the breadth and caliber
of services and amenities offered to its guests and to broaden its appeal to both
the leisure and transient markets. On Jan. 30, 2015, Dolce and his partners at Broadreach
Capital sold the company to the Wyndham Hotel Group.
Meg Worthington, a commercial/residential real estate agent and management consultant, recently received her GAi, Broker Salesperson designation in real estate and has been a licensed salesperson since 1980.
Prior to joining the Stephen N. Frankel team in 2001, she served as president of the Worthington Group for 16 years, a family-owned, management-consulting firm. She and her late father, Charles “Chuck” Worthington, a former Stockton trustee, represented many corporations and publicly traded companies in the areas of marketing, strategic planning, legislative and issue development.
Worthington’s long-time service on the Galloway Township Council led her to being named to the New Jersey Elected Officials Hall of Fame. Throughout her 24-year tenure on council, Galloway was one of the fastest-growing communities in New Jersey. She has been involved in all facets of that growth and development. Worthington served four terms as mayor and also served on the Planning Board, Budget, Infrastructure, Solid Waste, Affordable Housing and many ad hoc issue committees; giving her insight into virtually all aspects of Galloway’s administration, operation and development.
She also has been involved in the state regulatory process on several levels and understands the complex approval and redevelopment process in New Jersey’s Coastal and Pineland areas.
Stockton Provides A Helping Hand
Stockton students, faculty and staff have teamed up with community partners to assemble prosthetic hands for e-NABLE, a global network of volunteers who use 3D printers to provide “a helping hand” for individuals in need. The prosthetic hands are made through 3D printing and the cost factor has been driven down from upwards of $12,000 to $50.
Stockton students, faculty and staff have teamed up with community partners to assemble prosthetic hands for e-NABLE, a global network of volunteers who use 3D printers to provide “a helping hand” for individuals in need.
The prosthetic hands are made through 3D printing and the cost factor has been driven down from upwards of $12,000 to $50. Lowering the cost makes it possible for children to have new prosthetics as they grow.
Bob Heinrich, chief information officer, has been working with Lew Leitner, professor of Management, on the initiative for promoting the use of 3D printing at the University through a collaborative arrangement with the e-NABLE Foundation.
Mickey Keats ’87, a Stockton alumnus and current student in the Master of Arts in Instructional Technology (MAIT) program, is connected to e-NABLE through his work at a school in Panama. Heinrich said Keats has been the influential voice in bringing this initiative to the table and creating the opportunity for Stockton to be involved.
“One goal in this project is to connect Stockton University to the foundation as a provider of hands. Another goal is to develop curricula for classroom activity and research involving 3D printing. This has been a great opportunity to advance the use of 3D printing at the University,” Heinrich explained.
Last fall, Stockton faculty and staff, community partners and local educators gathered for a town hall meeting for a chance to meet with Jon Schull, the head of the e-NABLE Foundation and Melina Brown, director of Operations. The group discussed how they could assist by creating devices for e-NABLE.
A number of members from the Stockton community from various disciplines are involved in the project.
My wife, Lynne Kesselman, Class of 1982 and Class of 2005, became involved with the e-NABLE project through her role as president of the South Jersey Chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA).
Melissa Krupp ’14, a Stockton MAIT graduate, adjunct instructor and a Special Education high school teacher in the Southern Regional School District, is working on embedding the printing of the hands in her course curriculum.
Ashley Frazell, a student in the DPT program, and Lauren Del Rossi, assistant professor
of Physical Therapy, hold two assembled, prosthetic devices for the e-NABLE foundation.
Lauren Del Rossi, assistant professor of Physical Therapy who specializes in Pediatric Physical Therapy, has been actively using the on-campus 3D printer in her curriculum. Last spring, Del Rossi and graduate student Ashley Frazell printed and assembled an upper extremity prosthetic.
During the University’s 12th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Jan. 18, volunteers assembled more than 20 upper extremity prosthetic devices for e-NABLE.
Del Rossi; Frazell; Erin O’Hanlon from the Office of Service-Learning; and Kevin Kusion, a student worker in the Office of Computer and Telecommunication Services, served as team leaders on the project. The prosthetic hands assembled during the Day of Service will go to adults and children in Panama through the connection made by Keats.
“As someone who has been printing devices here at Stockton for use in the DPT pediatric curriculum for the last year, it was incredible to see production on such a large scale,” said Del Rossi ’06, ’09. “This technology is so exciting for someone working in rehabilitation and the power of Stockton’s teamwork was awesome.”
Students in Computer Science will continue working on improving the prosthetics’ design. Meanwhile, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy faculty, including Del Rossi; Mary Lou Galantino, Distinguished Professor of Physical Therapy; and Patricia Quinn McGinnis, professor of Physical Therapy, will explore opportunities to expand the initiative through their partnerships abroad.
“This project is an example of what is possible when we bring together experts from different disciplines to share knowledge and expertise. It is so rewarding to see this combination of advances in health and technology that can enhance the quality of life for so many,” said Theresa Bartolotta, dean of the School of Health Sciences.
To learn more about e-NABLE foundation, click here.
I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter!
Harvey Kesselman
President, Stockton University
