Dear TCNJ Community:
During today’s Board of Trustees public meeting I announced my intention to retire effective June 30, 2018. While this was not a decision I arrived at easily, I believe this is a good time both for the institution and for me for this transition in leadership. I deeply appreciate the continued support of the Board of Trustees and the extraordinary work of the talented members of the TCNJ community, particularly the members of the cabinet. The cabinet and I know that we could not do our work without exceptional faculty and staff, talented students, and the support of our alumni and friends. TCNJ is a special place, made so by all of you. It has been the highlight of my professional career to have served as your president for the past 18 years. When I arrived on the campus in 1999 my family and I were welcomed so warmly. From my first interaction with the search committee, I was convinced that TCNJ was the right fit for me. Since that time, we have done very good work, together. We have enhanced the educational experience, greatly improved graduation rates, and made the college an exemplar of public education that is both affordable and of the highest quality. We have celebrated together as we honored student, faculty, staff, and alumni accomplishments, and we have mourned together the loss of those who served our community for decades and those who left us far too soon. However, our work together is not yet complete. As we end an extraordinarily successful comprehensive campaign and continue work on an ambitious strategic plan, there is much more we will accomplish in the coming year. As I have done each year, my last welcome back address on August 30, 2017 will provide an opportunity for me to share our successes from the past year and to outline goals for the coming year. I also look forward to working with the Board of Trustees as they facilitate the important work of identifying TCNJ’s next leader. To that end, the following is an email from Jorge Caballero, Chair of our Board of Trustees.
Sincerely,
R. Barbara Gitenstein
Dear TCNJ Community:
With deep respect and admiration, the Board of Trustees has accepted President Gitenstein’s intention to retire. Under Dr. Gitenstein’s leadership, the college has continued to pursue a path of excellence, and we have much to be proud of. Just as we celebrated her arrival and inauguration in 1999, we will take time throughout 2017-2018 to appropriately thank and celebrate President Gitenstein. Additional information regarding those activities will be forthcoming. The Board of Trustees takes seriously its responsibility for identifying and appointing the next leader for The College of New Jersey. We will pursue this task with the goal of ensuring that the good work laid out by Dr. Gitenstein be continued and further strengthened. I have appointed Trustee Susanne Svizeny ’79 to chair the Presidential Search Committee and will reach out to campus stakeholders in the coming days to identify membership, which ensures that the committee best represents the campus community. I will share much more on the search process in the weeks ahead. Please know that the search committee and the Board of Trustees will rely on the participation of the entire community at key points during the search process. We look forward to identifying the 16th President of The College of New Jersey to lead us through the institution’s next chapter.
Sincerely,
Jorge A. Caballero