New Jersey City University, acting in partnership with “Jersey Strong for Texas,” recently served as a major organizer of a massive drive that led to the collection and delivery of more than 7,500 desperately needed items to Houston’s Third Ward, where so many of the city’s poorest residents were devastated by Hurricane Harvey in late August.

Organizers of “New Jersey Strong for Texas” and “NJCU Stronger than the Storms” are now turning their efforts, along with the City of Jersey City, to assist the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

Assemblyman Jamel Holley, of the 20th Legislative District, who led the “Jersey Strong for Texas” project, and Dr. David Weiss, an NJCU professor, initiated the first community service partnership earlier this fall for Houston that involved 127 volunteers, including NJCU students, The Student Government Organization at NJCU, NJCU alumni and staff, the Boys and Girls Club of Jersey City, and students from Hudson Catholic High School, University Academy Charter High School, and Dickinson High School.

As part of the project, Holley arranged for seven community-based collection sites throughout New Jersey to host supply drives for those affected by Hurricane Harvey in Houston. Items collected included toiletries, hygiene materials, supplies for babies and elderly people, school supplies, non-perishable foods, and cleaning supplies. Hudson Catholic and UACHS also conducted supply drives, and several Jersey City Rotary Club members volunteered their time to take inventory and separate supplies donated for the Houston relief effort.

To read more stories about NJCU, scroll down:

NJCU Invites Students from Hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands to Continue Studies
NJCU Receives 2017 Outstanding HACU Member Institution Award
MACUB 50th Annual Conference at NJCU

Weiss secured a $10,000 donation from an anonymous donor to aid in the hurricane relief efforts. The donation funded the purchase of 2,500 NJCU backpacks that were used to make individual care packages for the hurricane victims, as well as aided in the funding of transporting the donated items to Houston.

Led by Robert Quinones, Assistant Director of Campus Life and Coordinator of the NJCU Center for Community Service and Volunteerism, volunteers spent the last weekend in September on campus, sorting and packing 65 boxes of donated items that also included 1,000 bottles of water. The boxes were delivered to Houston in early October.

“Our nation and the world have been grieving over devastating tragedies – from Texas and Florida, to the storms that decimated the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and the horror of the shootings in Las Vegas,” said NJCU President Sue Henderson. “We see that at times such as these, there is a resurgence of hope as individuals and communities rush to the aid of those in need. The NJCU community is always ready and willing to offer its help and support to the local community and beyond. This is who we are.”

The NJCU Center for Community Service and Volunteerism is also pitching in on the recent donation supply drives to aid hurricane victims in Puerto Rico. Spearheaded by Jersey City Councilman Daniel Rivera, the City of Jersey City has conducted several supply drives for Puerto Rico. The NJCU Center for Community Service and Volunteerism has been hosting a supply drive for several weeks, and recruiting students to separate, inventory, and pack donated items to ship to Puerto Rico. As they did for Houston, members of the Jersey City Rotary Club have been readying supplies earmarked for Puerto Rico.

In addition, the balance of the NJCU backpacks purchased with funds from the anonymous donor are being used to create toiletry care packs to be sent to Puerto Rico.

NJCU Invites Students from Hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands to Continue Studies

New Jersey City University (NJCU) is offering tuition-free study this semester to college students in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands whose studies have been disrupted by the island-wide devastation caused recently by Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma.

Visiting students will have the opportunity to continue studies at NJCU in the Spring 2018 semester on a plan which will reduce the usual out-of-state tuition cost to in-state tuition fully covered by a scholarship. NJCU also will provide students with a housing scholarship of $2,000 per semester.

NJCU President Sue Henderson announced the initiative, stating, “The NJCU community is supplementing its efforts to provide material resources to those in need by extending to students in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands the opportunity to move forward with their higher education and prepare for careers that will help to rebuild their lives and their homelands after the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma.”

Dr. Henderson added, “We welcome students to NJCU from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who are in need because of the unimaginable devastation caused by hurricanes. NJCU is offering those visiting students the opportunity to learn and achieve. This initiative is in keeping with our University’s mission.”

For information about this study opportunity contact NJCU Director of Admissions Jose Balda at jbalda@njcu.edu or call 201-200-3381.

NJCU Receives 2017 Outstanding HACU Member Institution Award

New Jersey City University is the recipient of the national 2017 Outstanding HACU-Member Institution Award from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

President Sue Henderson accepted the award on behalf of the University during HACU’s 31st Annual Conference – “Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success: Driving America’s Prosperity” – held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, in San Diego, California.

HACU’s Governing Board approved the establishment of the award to “recognize and honor the extraordinary efforts and success of an institution that has excelled in advancing the mission and goals of HACU,” according to the association.

HACU represents more than 470 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, and Spain.

The University has been a member of HACU since 1989.

MACUB 50th Annual Conference at NJCU

New Jersey City University (NJCU) recently hosted the 50th Annual Conference of the Metropolitan Association of College and University Biologists (MACUB).

More than 300 biologists and graduate and undergraduate biology students from 39 public and private institutions of higher education in New Jersey and New York attended the conference, which was held in the Michael B. Gilligan Student Union Building on the NJCU campus at 2039 Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City.

The theme of this year’s conference, Mosquitos as Vectors: Zika and Malaria, brought into focus a critical issue that has global consequence. Two keynote speakers, both renowned researchers – Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D. of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Ana Rodriguez, Ph.D. of New York University Medical Center – shared information respectively about Zika and Malaria.

More than 100 research presentations were made by students and faculty throughout the day. Student research poster judging was held. Publishers and software and microscopy vendors had exhibits on display. The Association’s golden anniversary was celebrated with a special cake at the close of the event.

John Grew, Ph.D., professor and chair of NJCU’s Biological Sciences Department, was Conference Chair. NJCU faculty involved in presenting the Conference were: Reed Carroll, Ph.D. and Allison Fitzgerald, Ph.D., co- Program Chairs; Meriem Bendaoud, Ph.D. and Laura Pannaman, Ph.D., co-directors of the event planning committee; Ethan Prosen, Ph.D., chair of poster judging; and Cindy Arrigo, Ph.D., Natalia Coleman, Ph.D., Laine Giovanetto, Ph.D., and Vanashri Nargund-Joshi, Ph.D., NJCU Biology faculty participants.

Host sponsors of the event were the NJCU Offices of the President, the Provost, the Dean of Arts and Sciences, and the Biological Sciences Department.

For more information visit https://macub.org.