2024-25 Academic Year Welcome: Building the Bridge to Our Second Century with Grit, Heart, and Hope

Dear NJCU Family,

As we gather to begin this new academic year, I am filled with immense pride and profound hope. I reflect often on the strength, resilience, and determination that define our incredible community and how it emboldens our collective purpose. It is from our rich tapestry of cultures, languages, and experiences that New Jersey City University (NJCU) draws its strength, and it is with this spirit that we now embark on a bold new chapter in our journey together.

Collectively, we are embarking on a journey that will build the bridge to our second century — a journey that honors our past, embraces our present, and boldly shapes and defines for ourselves a future that is forever worthy of the people we are privileged to serve. The bridge we are building is not just metaphorical; it is a tangible, living testament to our collective efforts. It is a bridge that every member of our community helps to build — students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners alike. 

NJCU is more than a university; it is a vibrant community, a place where dreams and aspirations are nurtured and lives are transformed.

We stand on the precipice of our second century. This historic milestone will not be a testament to just longevity; it will be about legacy, purpose, and resolve. It is about honoring the struggles and sacrifices of those who came before us — many of whom were the first in their families to walk through the doors of higher education — and it is about building a future that is earnest about bringing our community’s promise within reach.

Our extraordinary students – many of whom are the first to be able to attend college – embody the grit and radical resilience that have always been the cornerstone of NJCU.  You come to us with dreams, hopes, and ambitions that are shaped by your families, your communities, and your own determination to build a remarkable life. 

You know what it means to work hard, to overcome obstacles, and to push forward even when the road is uncertain and unclear. You know that there is hope in things not seen.  This year, I want you to know that NJCU is not just a place where you will earn a degree; it is a place where your story matters, where your voice is heard, and where your journey is celebrated. We will marvel at you, and we will help you realize your promise.  We will remind you, as often as necessary, that your potential is limitless, your dreams are valid, and that your resilience will carry you. We thank you for trusting us to be where you launch the rest of your life. As you walk across the bridge we are building, carry with you the strength of your ancestors, the love of your families and community, and the knowledge that you are capable of achieving greatness.

 

In all, over 1,800 new students — first-year, transfer, re-admit cohorts, and graduate students — have joined the university for the Fall 2024 semester including our incoming Class of 2028! Not surprisingly, 52 percent of our new students are from Hudson County, where NJCU has been the public anchor university for nearly 100 years. What is notable is that the Class of 2028 also draws from 20 of the 21 counties in New Jersey, while eight percent of this class is from out of state, with 22 different states other than New Jersey represented — more than double the out-of-state representation from Fall 2023. We are proud that students, near and far, are choosing to continue their educational journey at NJCU!  Our collective work in breathing life into our refreshed university mission and vision brings us a larger freshman class than the prior year and is witness to exponential growth for the first time in several years to our new transfer student population and readmit campaign. 

Furthermore, this fall we will begin the exciting prospect of recruiting our centennial class — the Class of 2029 — and as we draw closer to entering our second century, this is a historical moment which we are poised to embrace.

To our remarkable faculty and staff, you are the stewards of our legacy and personification of our mission in action. You understand that education is not just about imparting knowledge but about transforming lives. Your work goes beyond the classroom; it reaches into not just the minds of our students but their hearts too. You have an enviable ability and opportunity to inspire them to see beyond their current circumstances and to envision the futures they can create. This year, let us recommit ourselves to fostering a culturally responsive environment, where every student feels empowered, supported, and ready to take on the world. Thank you for your dedication, your passion and your unwavering commitment to our students and our mission. Let us continue to work together to create a university that reflects the values of equity and justice that we hold dear. 

To our dynamic alumni and community partners, you are an indispensable part of this journey. Your support, your involvement, and your belief in our mission are what make this bridge to our second century possible. As we move forward, I invite you to join us in this effort, to share your wisdom, your resources, and your passion.

Let us recognize that our diversity is our greatest strength. NJCU is a microcosm of the world, a place where people from every background come together to learn, grow, and create. This diversity is not something we simply acknowledge; it is something we celebrate and actively cultivate. It is our wellspring of innovation, creativity, and new perspectives that will guide us into our second century.

Our proud role as a minority/Hispanic-serving institution is not just a federal designation; it is a call to action. It is a reminder of our responsibility to serve our diverse student body with intentionality and compassion. We are here to uplift, to empower, and to ensure that every student can succeed.

This year, let us deepen our commitment to our revitalized mission. As we look ahead to our second century, the theme for this year is Building the Bridge to Our Future with Grit, Heart, and Hope. We are a community that knows how to face challenges head-on, to adapt, and to thrive. We have faced challenges that have tested us personally and as a community, but each time, we have emerged stronger, more united, and more determined to fulfill our mission. Now, it is the time to channel that same spirit into the work of building a future that reflects the best of us. As we build the bridge to our next century, let us do so with the same boldness and passion that have brought us this far. Let us honor the past by being fearless in our pursuit of progress, equity, and justice. Let us create a future where every student, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to succeed and to make their mark on the world. 

This year, I ask each of you — students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners — to bring your whole selves to this journey. Let us learn together and build together. Let us continue to be a place where every story matters, where every voice is lifted, and where every dream is championed.

At NJCU, we understand that academic journeys are not always linear, and in our communities, life presents detours — some intentional and necessary, but for many, obstacles which are unexpected and uncontrollable. Our mission-driven work beckons us to help our students finish what they started. With that in mind, to enhance the university’s student retention, persistence, and success, including tailored support and specialized individual assistance, the university is launching the first-ever Office of Student Persistence, within the Division of Student Development and Community Engagement.

Later this fall, we will culminate our mission-driven work in reimagining the future of NJCU when we complete the final phase of our strategic planning when we introduce the Strategic Plan for Student Development and Community Engagement. This plan will complement the bold vision for the future outlined over the last 18 months — first in our NJCU Recovery and Revitalization Plan, and most recently in the introduction of our first-ever Academic Master Plan (AMP) and the Strategic Enrollment Plan (SEP) this past spring. We are driven by our refreshed mission and vision statements which we proudly introduced this spring as the core of our daily work which will guide the work of our accreditation self-study that also launches this fall.

This summer, in our unrelenting commitment to building up the lives of those who dream of a quality, affordable education, we have continued to forge comprehensive partnerships in our community. Most recently, we launched the Essex|NJCU Express program, which will grant joint admission at NJCU to students at Essex County College. This program builds upon a similar partnership with Hudson County Community College — the HCCC|NJCU Connect — which launched in January to great praise. Similar partnerships will be publicly launched in the coming months. Both programs are possible because NJCU is now one of the most transfer-friendly public university in the state.

Our mission of empowering underserved and underrepresented students is not limited to first-time freshmen or transfer students. As such, NJCU and the Boys and Girls Club of Hudson County have entered into a comprehensive partnership that now allows high school aged students participating in the program to dream big, knowing that a college education is within their reach on our campus.  It is a first-of-its-kind initiative between NJCU and a youth organization, and we know will be a model for others to emulate to ensure that a college education is always within the sights of any young person who dares to see a bright future awaiting them.

As we stand at the dawn of our second century, let us do so with hearts full of hope, minds open to new possibilities, and a spirit that is unbreakable. The future is ours to create, and I am confident that, together, we will forge something extraordinary.

There’s an old Spanish proverb that reads “no hay camino, se hace camino al andar” — there is no path, the path is made by walking. Every step creates our path to the future, and we walk it together.

Here’s to a transformative year ahead, and to the bright future we are building together. Let us build this bridge with the strength of our collective spirit, with the courage of our convictions, and with the hope that together, there is nothing we cannot achieve.

Yours in service with admiration and affection,

Andrés Acebo
Interim President
New Jersey City University