Courses offer flexibility for working professionals seeking to develop skills

The Feliciano School of Business at Montclair State University announces the addition of a fully online MBA program to its degree offerings. It will enroll its first cohort of students in fall 2016.

“This format allows us to offer our high-quality, work-ready MBA to non-traditional students who aren’t able to join us on campus,” said Feliciano School of Business Dean Greg Cant. “Our goal is to give students the flexibility they need to accommodate their work schedules as well as an innovative curriculum that develops the talents and skills necessary to compete in an increasingly global marketplace.”

The Feliciano School of Business offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate business degree and certificate programs that provide students with the analytical-thinking, communication and leadership skills that are the foundation of lasting professional success.

For more stories about Montclair, scroll down:

Montclair: In Top LGBTQ-Friendly List
Inaugural Doctoral Summit For Doctoral Scholars
“Green Team” Interns Advance Sustainability

The new Online MBA program joins popular Weeknight, Executive and Saturday Hybrid MBA degree program options, as well as a Master of Science in Accounting.

The Feliciano School of Business is launching a wide-ranging marketing, lead-generation and student-recruitment campaign to support the new program, with the help of Emerge Education, a Pennsylvania-based firm dedicated to higher education solutions.

“We are honored to be working with the Feliciano School of Business to help broaden the visibility and reach of its online MBA program,” says Kim T. Coon, President and CEO of Emerge Education. “To remain competitive in today’s environment, public institutions of higher education must offer high-quality online degree programs to reach students who demand flexibility. Montclair State is doing just that.”

Montclair: In Top LGBTQ-Friendly List

Campus Pride has included Montclair State in its 2016 “Best of the Best” Top 30 List of LGBTQ-inclusive institutions of higher education.

“Being named one of the top LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities in the nation is a huge honor,” says Brian Edwards, the University’s assistant director of the Office of Equity and Diversity and coordinator of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) Center. “I’m ecstatic that we’re receiving this accolade for the second year in a row.”

Once again, the University received a ranking of five out of five possible stars in the Campus Pride Index, to join institutions such as Princeton, Tufts, University of Pennsylvania and UCLA on the prestigious list, which showcases the nation’s most LGBTQ-inclusive schools in terms of policies, programs and practices.

A Campus Culture of Diversity and Inclusion
The University has long cultivated and supported a broadly diverse community of faculty and students, scholars and staff. Since 2009, the LGBTQ Center, in particular, has worked to create a campus environment inclusive and supportive of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression through leadership development, education, advocacy, and support programs and services.

“Montclair State has students and faculty who will do anything to try and make this campus as inclusive as it can be,” says Damon Dixon, a Peer Educator who also serves as the director of diversity and equity affairs in the Student Government Association, Inc. “We have people who are passionate enough to advocate for a greater change, as well as an open-minded administration that gives us the resources to continue our steps into a more inclusive space. Not every campus has that.”

Nor does every university offer the array of programs and initiatives that are available at Montclair State. Since 2010, the Stonewall Suites LGBTQA Living Community has offered lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and allied students a living and learning experience focused on LGBTQA and other social justice issues.

Students participating in the LGBTQ Center’s Peer Education Program are active advocates for campus-wide diversity, inclusion and acceptance. ”Peer Educators are in a community where they constantly educate each other,” explains Dixon.

“I love the pride of being a Peer Educator,” says Family and Child Studies major and Peer Educator Mia Henderson. “Doing work with the Center makes me feel at ‘home’ within myself. It just feels right.”

Senior Kelsea Rowan especially appreciates the Center’s drop-in clubs and groups. “Each group is a safe space where students’ identities are recognized and affirmed and where people can be their authentic selves.”

Planning for the Future
Since last August, the LGBTQ Center has implemented additional initiatives, including the establishment of Theta Delta Sigma, a gender-inclusive, multicultural Greek colony. “I hope Theta Delta Sigma will continue to provide a loving family that empowers diverse folks on campus – and creates change in the Greek community,” says Rowan, who is currently president of the PLUS colony of Theta Delta Sigma.

The Center also recently spearheaded the removal of transgender exclusions from the University’s student health insurance plan, an effort that provided trans-inclusive health care coverage to students not only at Montclair State, but also to students at Kean University, Rowan University and The College of New Jersey.

At the same time, Edwards believes there is even more work to be done. Looking ahead, he envisions new ways to make Montclair State even more inclusive. He is currently working with the administration to provide preferred/used name options in University-wide systems; develop accessible, simple processes for students to change their gender identity on University records and documents; and add fields for prospective students to self-identify their gender and sexual orientation on admissions applications.

Montclair State’s inclusion on Campus Pride’s Top 30 LGTBQ-Friendly Colleges list is an important validation of the University’s – and LGBTQ Center’s – missions. “It sets the bar high,” says Edwards. “I’m thrilled to work each day with students, faculty and administrators who are not only open, but committed to making our campus more inclusive and supportive year after year.”

EOF scholars, staff, and alumni who participated in the event.

Inaugural Doctoral Summit For Doctoral Scholars

The inaugural Doctoral Summit for prospective and current Doctoral Scholars took place at Montclair State University on Friday, September 30, 2016.

The event included a PhD Panel, keynote, multiple breakout sessions, S.M.A.R.T goal exercise and a networking lunch.

The 70+ future doctors (EOF/non-EOF) hailed from New Jersey, New York, NY, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.

“Green Team” Interns Advance Sustainability

Summer program at University’s PSEG Institute finds sustainable solutions for top companies

Whether majoring in political science or sustainability science, public health or accounting, the 35 Montclair State student PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies “Green Team” members shared a common purpose: to address sustainability issues facing leading regional and global businesses.

“Every time I talk about this program, I smile,” says Institute Director Amy Tuininga, who created the 10-week summer pilot. It pairs students – including a geology major and a business major from Rutgers-Newark – from 22 different degree programs with companies seeking sustainable solutions to problems ranging from zero waste to sustainability marketing and reporting. “This initiative has been very important in terms of developing a model for productive academic-corporate-community partnerships.”

Participation in the paid internship program was highly competitive. “We had a rich applicant pool for 35 undergraduate and three supervisory graduate student spots,” says Tuininga. Seven teams of five students each worked with host corporations Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cox Printers, Greener by Design, NJM Insurance Group, PSEG, Prudential Real Estate Investment and Sabert.

Funded by the PSEG Foundation, this novel approach to transdisciplinary experiential learning also included professional development training, field trips to venues such as the United Nations and New Jersey’s Salem and Hope Creek Power Plants, and grounding in sustainability science.

“PSEG and the PSEG Foundation have been longtime supporters of the PSEG Institute for Sustainable Studies and their Green Team program,” said PSEG Energy and Sustainability Policy Manager Angela Ortiz. “The Green Team program is the type of program we support to help students who are increasingly broadening their knowledge of the relationship between the environment, businesses and economy.”

“This program goes far beyond any internship experience. It not only focuses on sustainable development and resolving real world environmental issues, but it also tied into fields like business, health and information technology,” says public health major and rising senior Leana Zeidan, who was a member of corporate partner Greener by Design’s team. “We’re coming out of this internship with hands-on experiences that we couldn’t have gotten anywhere else, so we’ll be a step above the rest.”

The program benefits host companies, as well as students, by providing an opportunity to explore and develop custom-tailored sustainability solutions. For example, various departments within NJM Insurance were able to assess the sustainability of their operations and identify areas where they might improve efficiencies – while pinpointing ways to better align initiatives with their mission, vision and values.

Making the World a Better Place
The way rising senior and sustainability science major Ralph Olacio sees it, the Green Team pilot program is a bold step for the University. “It’s the first program of its kind in New Jersey to bring academia and the private sector together to promote and implement a truly sustainable future for all,” he notes.

The Cox Printers team developed ideas that could help reduce the company’s carbon footprint and initiate green programs to share with the surrounding community. As a team member, Olacio created a printable 3D design for a rooftop mini-golf course. “It was refreshing to see the future of sustainability from the perspective of a business,” he says. “Although many economic barriers inhibit true sustainability in all industries, it was great to see such institutional forward-thinking.”

According to PSEG’s Ortiz, the energy company was seeking a fresh and unbiased perspective on new trends in sustainability reporting – and what should be publicly available and reported.

“This has been a great experience,” says public health major and PSEG team member Julie Attys. “It showed me sustainability is not only about recycling but about people and making the world a better place.”

Attys learned something new every day. “I’m in a group with geology, political science, biology, and sustainability science majors. Working with them and with a large electric company was an eye-opening experience.”

Teammate Abdiel Jimenez valued the opportunity to work with PSEG. “As students, we don’t have enough experience to understand the corporate world,” the sustainability science major says. “But through this program, my team and I have learned to understand it.”

Putting Theory into Practice
Students seldom participate in corporate boardroom conversations and presentations at a Fortune 500 company, but at Prudential Global Investment Management Real Estate (PGIM Real Estate), Karthika Priya Jayaprakash and her teammates were able to do just that.

According to Jayaprakash, the experience benefits students and companies alike. “The corporate partners interacted with students who are truly passionate about sustainability, conversant with best practices and want to make a real difference,” says the computer science major. “Students got beyond theory to practice and got a ringside view into how corporations operate, how every decision has to be quantified, how risk assessments are performed, and the factors that drive policy.”

“Our participation in the MSU intern program provided us with the opportunity to engage in projects outside of our typical day-to-day activities and also challenge the students to find solutions for real-life sustainability issues,” recalls David DeVos, PGIM Real Estate VP, Global Director of Sustainability. “As a result of our collaboration, we have developed new tools to improve the implementation of our sustainability initiatives and streamline the reporting of our sustainability program.”

Seeing Green
NJM Insurance calls their Green Team students their “A Team.” The students worked collaboratively to identify and roll out easy-to-implement, cost-effective, environmentally beneficial programs that have been well received by the company. Some of the students’ ideas may eventually be incorporated into NJM’s ongoing sustainability efforts.

Jurisprudence, law and society major Emma Lavin joined the program for a hands-on experience that would teach her about energy efficiency. “We worked to help solve NJM’s sustainability issues such as finding new ways for them to decrease the yearly amount of energy they use,” she explains.

As an unexpected benefit, the internship has Lavin considering a career in environmental law.

A Win-Win Program with a Bright Future
Encouraged by the pilot program’s success, Tuininga expects to offer it again next summer. “We offered a great resource and practical deliverables to our corporate partners, while we brought students together from different disciplines who are able to build their resumes and network,” she says. “They learned hard and soft skills, from industry best practices to corporate social responsibility.”

Tuininga believes that all businesses could benefit by taking a closer look at their sustainability practices. “Our students have shown they are eager to help. So far, the program has been a win-win situation all around and we anticipate an even brighter future.”