TCNJ

TCNJ Annual Report 2016-2017

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1 Dear Friends, This summer, I announced my intention to retire on June 30, 2018. By that date, I will have spent almost two decades serving as president at The College of New Jersey. This role has been the highlight of my professional career, and I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to accomplish together. Our successes over the years have been documented in the pages of this annual report. This 2016–17 edition, like its predecessors, illustrates abundant achievement, which is not surprising given the talent and commitment of this community. We have always set the bar high and then set our sights even higher. We are amazingly adept at exceeding expectations. But these pages tell another story—one that is grander than any individual accomplishment and longer in the making than the single-year time frame of this report. As I reflect on my tenure at TCNJ, it is clear that the achievements of today did not happen by chance. Our successes, in large part, are dividends reaped from years of careful planning, investment, and determined effort, guided by a shared vision of TCNJ as an exemplar of the best in public higher education—a college that is both of the highest quality and affordable. In my 1999 inaugural address, I said: "We aim to become … the best undergraduate 'public ivy' in the land." While third-party rankings may not yet rate us as the top public comprehensive college in the country, we are certainly among the top two or three. This is evidenced by the achievements documented in this report. TCNJ has the fifth highest four-year graduation rate among all public colleges and universities in the U.S. Our graduates are being admitted to the country's top graduate schools and recruited by a wide range of employers. Our federal student loan default rate, an infrequently cited statistic but no less meaningful indicator of postgraduate success, stands at 1.4 percent, far below the national average of 11.3 percent. The richness of our educational experience is underpinned by a faculty that continues to distinguish itself, earning book awards, prestigious fellowships, and prominent professional appointments. We took a leadership role this year in transforming nursing education to promote quality and safety in patient care. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine featured TCNJ as the single stand-alone case study as part of its release of a major report on undergraduate research. Our emphasis on mentored undergraduate research, which was an integral part of an academic transformation early in my tenure, is producing other dividends. This spring, four seniors were awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. An international studies major was invited to present her paper on Korean reunification at the annual "Posters on the Hill" event in Washington, D.C. And a 2016 alumna's senior project, co-authored with two faculty mentors, was published in one of the world's most-cited scientific journals. In June, The Campaign for TCNJ concluded on a high note, raising $47.5 million—119 percent of its original goal and almost double what a consultant once told us we might hope to raise. More than 13,000 donors contributed to the effort, motivated by our mission and momentum. Of course, the success of the college today is built upon the strong foundation laid by my predecessors and the devoted community members who worked alongside them. Likewise, all that we have achieved together over the past 18 years serves as prologue to the further excellence that is sure to come. Sincerely, R. Barbara Gitenstein President

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