TCNJ

39 Class Notes WINTER 2025 Giving all they got PETER MURPHY F rom high school sweethearts to a power couple at TCNJ, Carl and Jackie Gibbs have forged a remarkable journey of partnership and entrepreneurial success. They are deeply committed to using their knowledge, business experience, and love of the college to strengthen TCNJ's financial standing and its attractiveness as a go-to school. "TCNJ was a game changer for me," says Carl Gibbs '93, chair of TCNJ's Board of Trustees. "I am a first-generation college graduate. That experience transformed me." As a student, he took advantage of the Educational Opportunity Fund program, receiving college prep skills in a summer session designed to get underserved students up to speed academically before their first semester. He also had access to tutors, mentors, and career development. He credits his EOF/Project Chance advisor, Robert Alston, who was then director of financial aid for the college, as one who guided him through his time as a business administration and marketing major. "The course- work was tough, but he directed me to the resources I needed to be successful." Now, Carl is president and CEO of Sturdivant & Co., one of the oldest minority-owned investment firms in the country. With a 30-year career in the financial sector, Carl served for eight years on the board of direc- tors of the TCNJ Foundation before joining the college's Board of Trustees in 2017. Last fall, he became chair. "My number one goal as chair is the financial stability of the college," he says. "I am excited about the future of the institution and seeing how we prosper in new areas." For Jackie Gibbs '88, the youngest of nine in a family where you were expected to go to college or the military, it was a few TCNJ professors who most influenced her path. Professor Gloria Dickinson, a founder of the African American studies department, and advisor James "Chico" Chambers were key to making her feel she belonged on campus and encouraged her to work hard and start her future at TCNJ. Retired busi- ness professor Lynn Braender sparked Jackie's interest in computer programming, setting the stage for a promising career as a consultant and project manager in a field where women were few. "They instilled positivity in me, and so I wanted to succeed for them, too," she says. "To thank them for believing in me." Now Jackie inspires her own students as an instructor for TCNJ's MBA program. Jackie, who was in the inaugural class of TCNJ's College Ambassadors — the group of students clad in blue and white striped rugby jerseys Carl and Jackie Gibbs

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