Stockton News - Feb. 7, 2025 - University Relations & Marketing

Stockton News - Feb. 7, 2025

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Messages of Hope, Resilience on Display During Annual Flag Raising

As the wind whistled through the flags on display in the Arts & Sciences Circle, the briskness of the evening began settling in as the sun made its descent behind the speakers sitting in front of the crowd. Soon, Professor of Music Beverly Vaughn’s gloved fingers masterfully glided along on the keys of her piano.

The Feb. 4 ceremony, a flag raising that kicks off Stockton’s celebration of Black History Month, included stirring remarks from student leaders on the importance of Black heritage.

Students Elizabeth Macklin and My’Air Henry – president and vice president, respectively, of the Unified Black Students Society (UBSS) – opened the program by reflecting on the current state of the world.

“In today's climate, it is especially clear how important it is to be unified and to recognize that our strength lies in education, commemoration and community,” Macklin said. “As we continue today, please remember the purpose of this flag and how essential it is to maintain solidarity amongst each other, not only during Black History Month but throughout our everyday lives.”

📸 See more photos on flickr.

Brazilian Team to Practice on Campus Before FIFA Club World Cup

One of Brazil’s most iconic and globally beloved soccer teams has announced that it will train at Stockton this summer, ahead of its first two matches for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.

CR Flamengo, based in Brazil’s largest city Rio de Janeiro, has an estimated fan base of nearly 50 million and is reportedly the country’s most valuable soccer team.

The team will arrive at Stockton’s Galloway campus on June 11, ahead of its first game in the global tournament at 9 p.m., June 16, against Tunisian squad Espérance Sportive de Tunisie. The team will continue to practice at Stockton before its second name against English Premier League standouts Chelsea FC at 2 p.m., June 20. Both games will be played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

“Stockton is proud to welcome the CR Flamengo to the United States and New Jersey,” said President Joe Bertolino. “Our Athletics Department has worked hard to prepare our top-notch facilities for this event, and this will be a great opportunity to showcase our beautiful campus to CR Flamengo and the world.”

International Study Emphasized at Global Engagement Fair

What began as a way for the Office of Global Engagement to streamline information gathering for Stockton students interested in studying abroad has transformed into a centralized and comprehensive hub encompassing all of the resources and programs available to students.

Students explored the tables lining the hallways of the Campus Center to find programs that best suited their interests at the Jan. 30 Study Abroad Fair. Amidst the information and resources were chances to win giveaways, such as a raffle for a new suitcase or a free T-shirt after spinning a prize wheel.

Study abroad options, like the faculty-led programming that takes students to Ghana, South Africa and Greece, were manned by students and faculty who joined previous excursions, like Criminal Justice major Isabella Campione, who vlogged her time in Italy and Ireland, and Environmental Science major Jayden Hamlet, who visited Ghana through the program just last year.

📸 See more photos on flickr.

SPOTLIGHT ON: TONY BERICH

Tony Berich, executive director of Athletics & Campus Recreation at Stockton, was recently appointed to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Management Council. Division III is home to more than 430 institutions and 200,000 student-athletes — the most in any division, and this council includes 21 Division III athletic administrators and two student-athletes.

Berich shared what an honor it is to be a part of this group. “When you get into college athletics and learn about the governance structure, you quickly learn about the importance and respect for the Management Council. Many of those people that I learned from and respect, most were members at one time or another, so having that opportunity to follow in their footsteps is humbling. In my role, I will be part of a group that helps shape the future of NCAA Division III and given the major shifts in all divisions of the NCAA, it comes at a critical time for our membership.”

FRAME-WORTHY

Spring Semester Vibes 🫶

Students are feeling the love as the spring semester is underway. You can find them grabbing coffee at Dunkin’, studying in the Academic Spine, walking around Lake Fred, or spending time in the Multicultural Center, amongst just a few Osprey sightings.

📸 See more photos on flickr.

WHAT'S TRENDING @ #STOCKTONU

Instagram: This is your sign 💻 to APPLY NOW for the 2025-2026 Foundation Scholarships!

Facebook: "If you want to learn everything about yourself, run an ultramarathon," said Christopher Shaw, an Exercise Science graduate now finishing his Master of Science in Occupational Therapy.

LinkedIn: The Education and Human Development program celebrates its first two graduates, Ashley Saginario and LaRissa Sykes, who completed their degree requirements last month.

FROM THE SIDELINES

Cross Country Teams Earn USTFCCCA Academic Honors

The men's and women's cross country teams and a total of six runners qualified for academic honors from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the 2024 season.

A squad must have a cumulative GPA of 3.10 or higher to qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. The Stockton women's squad, coached by Claire Incantalupo, amassed an outstanding 3.66 GPA to finish in the top half of 235 NCAA Division III teams who qualified and the men's team, coached by Jayson Resch, recorded a 3.39 GPA. The Osprey women's team was the highest NJAC team on the list.

Stockton women's runners Kayla Kass, Rachel Hayesand Amanda McNallyearned USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete accolades. Kass and Hayes earned the distinction for the third time, while McNally collected her second nod.

The Osprey men were Erik Ackerman, Josh Corsentinoand Dan Squicciarini. Ackerman earned his second academic honor, with Corsentino and Squicciarini garnering USTFCCCA academic status for the first time.

Stockton Wins 73-72; Matthews-Spratley Nets 1,000th Point

The men's basketball team edged New Jersey City University 73-72 in a tightly-contested game on Feb. 5 that was decided in the final moments. EJ Matthews-Spratley sank three clutch free throws with 1.5 seconds remaining to lift the Ospreys to victory.

Stockton trailed by four with 1:23 to play before two free throws by Matthews-Spratley eight seconds later made it 69-67. After a scoreless minute, Jahmir Payoute grabbed an offensive rebound, drained a short jumper and was fouled. The freshman then sank the free throw to put the Ospreys in front 70-69.

At the other end, Bakhi Rogers-Robinson drove the basket, scored and was fouled for a three-point play that gave NJCU a 72-70 edge with five seconds left. Matthews-Spratley then raced up the court and was hit on the arm while putting up a late three-pointer.

Matthews-Spratley scored 15 points and reached the 1,000-point plateau for his career. The junior entered the game with 993 career points and hit the 1,000 mark by sinking a free throw with 12:50 remaining in the second half.

Stockton will play a crucial road game at Montclair State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Ospreys sit in first place in the NJAC, one game ahead of the Red Hawks. ▶️ Watch live here.

🦅 For more athletics news and upcoming game information, visit here.🦅

OSPREY NOTES

State Assessment Team Seeks Comment on Stockton Police

A team of assessors from the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJSACOP) will examine all aspects of the Stockton University Police Department policies and procedures on Thursday, Feb. 20 and Friday, Feb. 21.

"Verification by the team that the Stockton University Police Department meets the Commission’s ‘best practice’ standards is part of a voluntary process to achieve accreditation, a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence,” Stockton Chief of Police Tracy A. Stuart said.

As part of this final on-site assessment, employees and members of the general public are invited to provide comments to the assessment team. They may do so by telephone or email. The public may call 609-626-3412 on Feb. 21 from 10-11 a.m. Comments will be taken by the Assessment Team. Email comments can be sent to the police department at police.accreditation@stockton.edu.

Telephone comments are limited to five minutes and must address the Stockton University Police Department’s ability to comply with the NJSACOP standards. Please contact the Stockton University Police Department’s Accreditation Manager David Madamba, who may be reached at (609) 626-3428 or david.madamba@stockton.edu for more information.

Anyone wishing to offer written comments about the Stockton University Police Department’s ability to comply with the standards for accreditation is requested to email the Accreditation Program Director at hdelgado@njsacop.org or write the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission at 751 Route 73 North, Suite 12, Marlton, N.J. 08053.

Deer Oaks EAP Now Called AllOne Health; Offers Enhanced Features

Stockton offers an Employee Assistance Program as one of our benefits, providing mental health counseling and a wide range of whole health support services for full-time employees and family members.

Our EAP partner, Deer Oaks EAP, recently announced that they will now be doing business as AllOne Health. As part of this update, you now have access to some expanded benefit offerings and an all-new EAP Member Portal that launched Feb. 1, 2025.

The new EAP Member Portal will provide you with enhanced features including access to mental health support, self-guided therapy (iCBT), financial wellness tools, work-life resources and new medical advocacy referrals. Visit Stockton’s EAP website for more information and log-in details.

2025-26 FAFSA is Available Now

Attention faculty & staff! The 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available now at fafsa.gov! We ask that you please encourage your students and their families to not only complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA by the below deadlines, but also utilize the resources and helpful information listed at stockton.edu/fafsa before they complete the application.

March 1 is the deadline for students to complete the FAFSA to be considered for aid programs with limited funding for the fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters.

April 15 is the deadline for students who received the State Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) and/or the Stockton Promise in the 2024-25 academic year to complete the 2025-26 FAFSA at fafsa.gov or NJ Alternative Application for Financial Aid (NJ Dreamers only) at hesaa.org to be considered for state aid as well as the Stockton Promise in the 2025-26 academic year. Students who miss this deadline could miss out on thousands of dollars in grant funding!

Any student or family member who needs assistance completing their section of the FAFSA is invited to attend an evening FAFSA Completion event hosted by the Office of Financial Aid on Tuesday, March 25! Students and their family members will receive in-person assistance in completing their sections of the FAFSA during this event. Register for March 25 here!

Students can also register for a one-on-one FAFSA Completion Appointment by using the “Get Assistance” button in the Ospreys Navigate account.

Please feel free to share the information on how to register with your students. Note that students will need to log in with their goStockton portal credentials to register.

Fun Fact Friday: 🧪⚗️ Today’s fun fact is for our science enthusiasts! It is National Periodic Table Day. English chemist John Newlands published the first table of elements on Feb. 7, 1863, which consisted of the 56 known elements at that time. He divided the elements into 11 groups based on the “Law of Octaves,” suggesting that any one element will have similar properties to elements eight places before and behind it on the table. While his table had flaws, it led to future discoveries by chemists such as Dimitri Mendeleev. Experimental physicist Henry Moseley contributed to the development of the modern periodic table.

POLLING ALL OSPREYS

groundhog Last week, we asked you whether fat, furry Punxsutawney Phil would predict more snow (see his shadow), an early spring (not see it), or the candid response of did it even matter. The majority response (44.4%) did not hold back and declared, “Does it even matter?” However, intuition then prevailed with the correct response of “yes” (33.3%) because he did indeed see his shadow, and then we had 22.2% with a “no” response. Thanks to everyone who participated. That was fun! ICYMI, our resident groundhogs got in on the action, too.