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April 2012
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Dean and Zoe Pappas Bestow Generous Gift to Stockton

Pappas Bestow Gift  Dean C. Pappas and Zoe Pappas.

As an undergraduate college student at Dickinson College in 1961, Richard Stockton College of NJ Trustee Dean C. Pappas underwent “a transformational experience” when he heard the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak to the student body.

“Until that point I was sort of drifting my way through college, but Dr. King’s message was very impressive. It made me start to think more seriously about my future. Basically, his message was to act responsibly. It was a moment that changed my life,” he said.

Mr. Pappas, a member of the Stockton College Board of Trustees since 2006, wanted students at the College to have similar access to outstanding visiting scholars. To that end, Mr. Pappas and his wife, Zoe S. Pappas, have donated $1 million to establish the Dean C. and Zoe S. Pappas Visiting Scholar Endowment Fund and $150,000 to establish the Interdisciplinary Center for Hellenic Studies (ICHS) Endowment Fund.

The Pappas Visiting Scholar Fund will be used to bring noted scholars and thought leaders to the College for classes, workshops and public events. The ICHS Fund will help support faculty research, student educational opportunity, and study abroad programs, among other initiatives, under the umbrella of the ICHS.

“Dean and Zoe Pappas’ generous gift is certain to provide our students with access to some of the great contemporary voices in education, culture and civic engagement,” Stockton President Herman J. Saatkamp said. “Just as Dr. King’s words inspired Dean to do great things in his life, Dean and Zoe’s gift will provide similar opportunity for current Stockton students and those who will follow. We are most grateful to Dean and Zoe for this wonderful gift.”

The visiting scholars program is envisioned to take place on an annual basis. The scholar or thought leader may come to the campus for several days and participate in classes, hold lectures, workshops and symposiums and be available for interaction with students and the community. In some cases, the funding might be used for a single event such as a performance or lecture, and in certain instances an occasional year may be skipped to allow for increased funding the following year.

“What will be constant,” Mr. Pappas said, “is that in all instances there will be a lecture or signature event that is open to the community and all who wish to attend.”


 

Stockton Named Among Nation’s Top “Green Colleges” by Princeton Review

  Stockton was named one of America’s most environmentally-responsible institutions of higher education.

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey has been ranked among the nation’s most environmentally responsible “green colleges” by the highly respected Princeton Review.

Stockton is included in “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition” released earlier this month in collaboration with the Center for Green Schools and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Long an advocate for the environment and the only college or university in the nation located in a federally protected pinelands reserve, Stockton demonstrated its commitments to sustainability and environmental education to earn inclusion in the volume.

“Since its inception, Stockton has embraced sustainability and environmentally responsible practices,” President Herman J. Saatkamp said. “We are New Jersey’s Green College, fostering accountability and stewardship in research, academic programs, and student learning in our community, nation and internationally. We are delighted to be recognized in the Guide to 322 Green Colleges.”

Stockton’s environmental initiatives and academic programs include one of the nation’s first and largest closed-loop geothermal heating and cooling systems, a new degree program in sustainability and a highly ranked environmental science and marine biology program.

Stockton’s Nacote Creek Field station is near fresh and salt water estuaries and home to the Coastal Research Center, one of the nation’s leading resources for the study or beach erosion and restoration.

The College’s Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage System (ATES) is the first project of its kind in the United States. The system, installed in 2008, reduces the amount of energy used to cool Stockton’s buildings by storing cold water underground in the winter and drawing it back out in the summer. Stockton embraces green building practices and includes sustainability as a major component of its long range strategic planning process.

“College-bound students are increasingly interested in sustainability issues,” said Robert Franek, Senior VP and Publisher, the Princeton Review. “Nearly seven out of 10 (in a recent survey) told us that having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school.”

For more information on the guide or to download it, visit www.princetonreview.com.


 

Stockton Comprehensive Campaign Reaches Goal Two Years Ahead of Schedule; Annual Scholarship Gala Successful

                Ampem Okorfur, a junior from East Orange; and Nancy Yamoah, a senior from Egg Harbor Twp., both scholarship recipients, at the recent Stockton Scholarship Gala.

“You Make the Difference: The Campaign for Stockton College” Stockton’s comprehensive campaign, has exceeded its $20 million goal two years ahead of schedule.

Stockton College President Herman J. Saatkamp announced the fundraising effort had reached $20.4 million at the recent 32nd Annual Stockton College Scholarship Gala at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. The campaign supports all aspects of Stockton’s mission, programming, facilities, and student scholarships.

“The Gala is always a night to celebrate and this year we had an extra incentive to do so,” Dr. Saatkamp said. “Our community and our alumni responded in an overwhelmingly positive way to our first comprehensive campaign. The philanthropic support of Stockton and our students is real and tangible, helping deserving students receive quality education and attain their degrees.”

The campaign was announced last September during the kickoff to the College’s 40th Anniversary of Teaching. A goal was set to raise $20 million by June 30, 2014. However, through the generosity of the community and attainment of several major gifts, that number was recently eclipsed more than two years prior to the stated deadline.  As a result, the College set a new goal to raise an additional $2 million before the original deadline.  "The need for scholarship funding has not abated," President Saatkamp said.


 

Former Governor Thomas H. Kean Gives Keynote Speech at Hughes Center/Atlantic County Utilities Authority Celebration of 25 Years of Recycling

 Former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean.

The Hon. Thomas H. Kean, former New Jersey Governor, was the keynote speaker last week at a celebration marking 25 years of recycling in Atlantic County at Stockton’s Campus Center.  The event was co-sponsored by the Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) and the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton.

“We worked hard to make recycling mandatory in New Jersey and we were a nationwide model in that regard,” Gov. Kean said.

During his talk, the culmination of a day-long symposium featuring a diverse series of speakers in the recycling field, Gov. Kean explained how both the Assembly and Senate worked on a bi-partisan basis with the ultimate result being a new law, the New Jersey Statewide Mandatory Source Separation and Recycling Act.

“Prior to the law, we ‘encouraged’ people to recycle, and the compliance was uneven,” the Governor said. “There was a need identified for the law and both Republoicans and Democrats worked hard to make it a reality.”

The former Governor credited Democratic State Senator Paul Contillo and Republican Arthur Albohn as two legislators who played a particularly prominent role.


Stockton Statistic:

Solar hot water heaters have been installed on three of the six rooftops at Stockton’s Housing 5 complex. (Each pair of buildings shares a hot water supply system.) Of the energy used to heat the water, 29.9% is now solar.

Our campus carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by about 20 tons per year by the solar hot water heaters.

The solar hot water heaters were purchased and installed with federal stimulus money (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).

Source: Stockton Energy Specialist Alice M. Gitchell.


Stockton Fun Fact:
Fans of the Ospreys know that men’s basketball coach Gerry Matthews is the dean of New Jersey Athletic Conference coaches and reached the 500-win plateau for his career last season. In 1994-95, however, Matthews took a year off. Who kept the program going as Interim Head Coach without missing a beat?

(Click here to reveal the answer)
Answer:
Longtime assistant Chris Crowley took over the reins of the team and guided the Ospreys to a 17-10 record. Only a heartbreaking loss on a last second shot at Rowan kept Stockton out of the NCAA Tournament that year.


News and video about Stockton Athletics may be found on the Stockton College YouTube channel.

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