As president of Schumacher Chevrolet Auto Group, New Jersey\u2019s largest volume Chevy dealer with locations in Boonton, Little Falls, Clifton, Denville and Livingston, Judith Schumacher-Tilton has a full plate. Her commitment to volunteerism is so generous that she was selected as the 2009 John I. Crecco Foundation Woman of the Year. Her leadership is so highly regarded that in November 2020 she assumed the chairwomanship of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers (NJ CAR) \u2013 becoming the first chairwoman in NJ CAR\u2019s 102-year history.<\/p>\n
Still, this extraordinary business and community leader carves out significant time to make ÌÇÐÄvlog a priority in her life.<\/p>\n
Actually, had it not been for her auto dealership business and reputation for community service, Montclair State might have never caught her attention the way it did. \u201cOne of my customers introduced me to the University,\u201d Schumacher-Tilton recalls. \u201cHe told me that they needed a scoreboard for the football field and asked if I could help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little did she know at the time that her involvement would evolve into several leadership roles at the University. Soon, Schumacher-Tilton was serving on the Foundation Board and the Annual Scholarship Dinner Committee. She also served on the leadership committee of\u00a0Soar: The Campaign for ÌÇÐÄvlog<\/em>, which recently announced its successful conclusion. The campaign raised nearly $82 million, far exceeding its $75 million goal.<\/p>\n Schumacher-Tilton has no intention of taking a break in her commitment to Montclair State. In her current role as co-chair of the Foundation\u2019s Development Committee, she is even more focused on meeting the need for scholarships. \u201cGerry Appelstein, my co-chair, and I are working hard to bring in the resources our students need, especially in these difficult times,\u201d she says. \u201cWe are leveraging the power of two!\u201d<\/p>\n As an alumna of the University of Vermont, Schumacher-Tilton has long felt that state higher education institutions are critical providers of opportunity. \u201cA financially accessible four-year college education is crucial,\u201d she says. \u201cThe high-quality education provided at Montclair State sets students on a solid career path. It is an amazing school right in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMontclair State is providing the economic backbone for New Jersey,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is so much value in keeping New Jersey\u2019s students in state for college and creating viable career paths for them here. They stay, they raise their families here, they support the structure of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n We are contributing to the economic health and wellbeing of the country as well,\u201d she adds. \u201cWithout an educated workforce we can\u2019t, as a nation, make progress.\u201d<\/p>\n Schumacher-Tilton has watched with admiration as President Cole created and implemented a grand vision for Montclair State, building the University from a college for teachers into a major, multifaceted research institution. She is also impressed by the faculty and staff who keep Montclair State humming through thick and thin. \u201cI love how they care,\u201d she says. \u201cFor them, Montclair State isn\u2019t just a place to go to work every day. They really care about the school and the students.\u201d<\/p>\n Schumacher-Tilton\u2019s true passion for Montclair State rests with its students, however. \u201cMost of our students are the first in their families to go to college, and even though the University strives to be affordable, most will need financial aid to earn their degree,\u201d she notes. \u201cIt is exciting to know that we are providing them with a superb education.\u201d<\/p>\n Although she recognizes the challenges of raising funds during these pandemic times, Schumacher-Tilton is confident that donors will see the value of investing in Montclair State and its students. \u201cInside of everyone is a hero,\u201d she says. \u201cBy giving to a school like Montclair State you are giving someone the opportunity to better their life. What better feeling is there?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a business leader, Judith Schumacher-Tilton is involved in the community and committed to supporting Montclair State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montclair-state-university-donors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1079"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1081,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079\/revisions\/1081"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}