Dear Colleagues,

As we wrap up the second day of our commencement celebrations, congratulations! You have done it once more. Over these two days, about four thousand students walked the stage. Many of them defied the odds and chose to imagine a future different from the one their circumstances predicted. Their parents and families imagined a future for their children different from the one they themselves had known. And they succeeded, with us, with your support and mentorship. Thank you!

In my introduction statement in January, I attributed Montclair State University’s unique vitality to its centering of imagination in everything we do. I cite Alfred North Whitehead, who wrote extensively on the topic. For example:

“The University imparts information, but it imparts it imaginatively. ... A fact is no longer a fact; it is invested with all its possibilities. It is no longer a burden on the memory; it is energizing as the poet of our dreams, and as the architecture of our purposes.”
—Alfred North Whitehead, 1928

The success of our students calls on them and their families to imagine a different future for themselves. It calls on us to affirm these visions, expand them, and turn them into reality.

But imagination isn’t abstract—it’s already reshaping how we work. To sustain the 'architecture of our purposes,' we must ensure our institutional structures are as imaginative and energized as the students we serve. The sustainability of our university and our ability to deliver on the promise of higher education for our communities demand that we turn our imagination introspectively and reject the premise that our old practices, organizations, or processes are the only way—or even the best way; that what worked in the past will work in the future. We owe it to our students to evolve.

In today’s rapidly changing landscape, our ability to thrive depends on how willing we are to interrogate our assumptions, review our practices, and imagine more effective and more efficient ways to think, to act, and to assess what we do.

This work is  not a time-limited project. It is the Montclair mindset. We have to enact it continuously. 

Within Academic Affairs we have been examining our organizational structures and are in the process of making changes that we expect will make us more efficient, more effective, and free up resources for additional student support and care:

Organizational changes underway

Enrollment Management + Academic Affairs 

We have been co-designing the merged structures, which will take effect on July 1st. Our focus remains on functional alignment and better service for our students.  We are bringing related groups and functions together, enhancing and speeding up critical communications, and eliminating duplication of functions. Details will be published soon.

University College → Discovery Program 

University College previously served approximately 1,500 students who had not yet selected a major. We know that the longer students remain undecided, the longer it takes them to graduate — and the more at risk they are of withdrawing. Through deliberate efforts to help students join a college earlier, we have reduced this population to under 500 students each semester — a two‑thirds reduction.

As a result, University College has been transformed into a smaller Discovery Program with a streamlined administrative structure, effective January 1. Final details of the revised structure will be published soon.

These two initiatives are part of a comprehensive review of the Provost’s Office. We will continue examining our organization with a focus on being agile, responsive, and proactive — ensuring Montclair State remains the vibrant, mission‑driven institution our students deserve. We will share decisions as they are finalized.

Thank you again and congratulations for another successful semester,

Fatma

The Undergraduate Transfer Policy has been updated to include the following sentence under the Acceptable Credits subhead: “The learning modality of the course (online, hybrid, in-person, synchronous, asynchronous, etc.) and/or the learning modality of the transfer institution shall not impact the course equivalency awarded to the student.”

The Graduate Center is now accepting applications for University offices interested in hosting a Graduate Administrative Assistant (GAA) or Graduate Student Support (GSS) position for the 2026-2027 academic year. The deadline for interested units to apply using this form is Friday, May 22.

Faculty and staff across the University are invited to connect with this summer's attendees and peer mentors as HSCI celebrates its 10th anniversary, Monday, June 29, 5 p.m. in University Hall's Conference Center. The deadline to RSVP for the Networking Event is Monday, June 15.

Events and Workshops

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