Montclair received two top-100 rankings – including No. 7 in the world in a critical research metric – in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 “Best Global Universities” rankings, which highlight 2,000 institutions worldwide.

The U.S. News rankings showcase the University’s growing research footprint and global impact. Montclair ranks No. 7 in the world in “Normalized Citation Impact” (the average number of times a research paper is cited in other works – a key metric of research impact) and No. 93 in the percentage of papers that are among the top 1% cited in their respective fields. Overall, the University rose 159 spots to No. 1,008 in the 2022 rankings.

Montclair has also been ranked No. 90 in the nation among more than 1,500 institutions in Washington Monthly’s 2022 “College Guide and Rankings,” which highlights institutions displaying excellence in social mobility, research, and community and national service. The University is one of just four New Jersey public institutions to crack the Top 100 in the National University rankings.

Each year, the award honors a professional who has made an impact in the field of international education during the first five years in their area of work. Wilkenfeld was nominated by her peers in the NAFSA Region X chapter (New York and New Jersey).

Wilkenfeld earned a master’s degree in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Higher Education from Montclair State, and has presented at various regional and national conferences, including NACADA (National Academic Advising Association) and NODA (Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education). She also actively volunteers locally within the international education community, serving as the conference planner for NAFSA Region X.

“From welcoming international students on their very first day at orientation to seeing them graduate, being a part of this incredible journey is why this isn’t just a profession, it’s a passion,” says Wilkenfeld. “This award is a testament to the continuous support I have from the University, my supervisors and colleagues, the NAFSA community, and my family, all of whom I thank.”

NAFSA is the largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange. Its mission focuses on advancing international higher education and fostering an understanding among people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

“The NAFSA Rising Star Young Leader award identifies newer professionals who will influence the future of international education,” said Esther Brimmer, NAFSA executive director and CEO.�� “Through the skills, talent and leadership she has shown in volunteer roles with NAFSA Region X in New York and New Jersey, Dawn Wilkenfeld has demonstrated a commitment to internationalization and an ingenuity of thought that has the potential for having substantial and lasting influence upon international education. Our association is eager to encourage Dawn as she continues to grow as an international educator and we believe that her contributions have only just begun.”

����vlog is home to 21,000 students, hundreds of whom are international. The Office of Global Engagement (OGE) offers affordable tuition and scholarships to its international students, as well as support on immigration questions for its F-1 and J-1 students.

“This award is a recognition of Dawn’s professional contribution to the field of international education,” says Cristiana Kunyczka, assistant vice president of the Office of Global Engagement. “Her commitment to international students at Montclair State is commendable. She has demonstrated that she has not only the skills but the passion to advance our office’s mission to support international students. We are so proud of her for having received this award and look forward to the many contributions she will make.”

To learn more about ����vlog’s programs for international students, visit montclair.edu/global.

On Thursday, February 21, Wilson will visit the Feliciano School of Business at ����vlog to deliver a presentation on advancing the importance of increasing Hispanic representation in corporate America. His presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

“I want our Hispanic students to see that who they are is an asset, that they are a valuable resource, that they have a space at the table and that their contributions are needed,” says event organizer, assistant vice president for Hispanic Serving Initiatives and professor of Family Science and Human Development Katia Paz Goldfarb. “I am sure that Wilson’s story will resonate with all of our students.”

A Dominican American who was raised in Bergen County, New Jersey, Wilson graduated from Ohio State University in 1994 with a degree in economics. As a college student, he worked for free in a brokerage firm mailroom to get his foot in the door. He was eventually named Forbes #1Specialty Retail Analyst in 2006.

Since its founding in 1986, HACR has become one of the nation’s most influential advocacy organizations, representing 12 national Hispanic organizations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Wilson draws on more than two decades of corporate finance and Wall Street equity research experience to direct HACR research initiatives, as well as an array of programs and events designed to support a growing network of Hispanic professionals and corporate partners.

Wilson currently serves and supports the broader Hispanic community through board memberships with noted minority advocacy groups, such as Dominicans on Wall Street; LatinoJustice PRLDEF; and UnidosUS. He is the former national president of the Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR); former vice chairman of the board of trustees for Bergen Community College; a past trustee ambassador to the New Jersey Council of County Colleges; a former member of the Association of Community College Trustees’ (ACCT) National Board of Directors; and a Gold Life Member of the NAACP.

Appointed in 2009 by President Barack Obama to the National Museum of the American Latino Study Commission that proposed construction of a new Smithsonian Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Wilson continues to lead advocacy efforts at sustaining Congressional support for the museum’s completion as Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino board chair.

“Events like this – and our event hosting New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy at the Latina Equal Pay Day in November – support the fact that Hispanics are an integral and vital component of American Society,” says Goldfarb. “It also supports the University’s commitment as a U.S. Department of Education designated Hispanic-Serving Institution to preparing the bilingual workforce of the future.”

Learn more: /calendar/view-event.php?id=52207

Barry Devone, community engagement officer for the Orange Public School District states: “Orange Community Schools is delighted to expand its partnership with ����vlog. The expansion of adult course offerings enhances our ability to provide cradle-to-career education opportunities for the City of Orange Township and surrounding communities.”

Courses and programs that have been selected will help learners acquire new skills to support them in enhancing current employment positions or in obtaining higher-level professional opportunities. Some of the courses that will be offered for the spring term include Spanish for Health and Social Services Professionals, Grant Writing, Cybersecurity, Project Management, and Excel for Business Analytics.

“We have a rather extensive catalog of offerings that are designed to help individuals establish long-term career paths,” says CAPE Executive Director Peter McAliney. “We worked together with the leadership of the OCSI to select courses and programs we felt would align with the needs of the community it serves and augment the programs they are already offering.”

“I am very excited about the budding partnership between CAPE and the Orange Adult School,” explains Bryan Murdock, director of the Center for Community Engagement at ����vlog. “My role in the OCS is to engage University resources into the Orange Community Schools so that Orange residents can benefit from all the wonderful opportunities the University makes available to local communities. Providing continuing��education courses through the Adult School will open up new and exciting educational and economic opportunities that heretofore were not easily available to Orange residents.”

Among those walking the gala’s red carpet at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, was ����vlog Police Chief and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) President Paul Cell. Representing the IACP, he spoke on the red carpet about his firsthand knowledge of Lee’s dedicated support of law enforcement.

“I worked as a law enforcement liaison for Stan’s Hands of Respect initiative, which he created to bring community members and law enforcement together to help create safe communities and promote a nationwide culture of respect,” says Cell. Together with Lee, he helped to promote the initiative at Comic Cons and on a number of nationally broadcast appearances. Cell is no stranger to red carpets, having attended the red-carpet premiere of Spider-Man with Lee and served as a talent escort for Grammy Award and daytime Emmy Award ceremonies.

“I was honored to be able to pay my respects to Stan Lee one more time, present a posthumous award and acknowledge all the contributions he had made to society,” says Cell. “Through his comics, he always delivered a message of hope that right will always prevail, as long as you do the right thing. It doesn’t matter who you are – anyone can help people and be a hero.”

Cell, who admits that Captain America is his favorite superhero, helped coordinate the tribute, which was produced by Legion M. Agents of Mayhem and Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment and presented by filmmaker Kevin Smith & Friends. In addition to the red carpet walk and presentations attended by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, public theater forecourt activities included an exhibit of Lee memorabilia, art by artist Rob Prior, a musical performance and more.

The evening’s private tribute continued in the TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre, where Smith moderated conversations about Lee’s life, work and legacy. Celebrity speakers included actors Mark Hamill and Vincent D’Onofrio, as well as The Dark Knight producer Michael Uslan and X-Men producer Tom DeSanto.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Hero Initiative, a federally chartered not-for-profit dedicated to providing a financial safety net for comic book creators in need.

For Cell, Lee will be remembered as someone who really cared about people. “He had a true concern for people and the safety of our communities,” Cell says. “His message was clear: any person could be a hero, no cape or costume needed.”

Supported by Succeed2gether, ����vlog, Montclair Public Library, Watchung Booksellers, Montclair Art Museum and many other local sponsors, the four-day series of events will feature more than 100 authors and 50 events. Best-selling authors including��The New York Times��best-selling author of the��The Wife, Meg Wolitzer, best-selling author of��One True Thing, Anna Quindlen, and National Book Award Finalist Min Jin Lee (author of the popular best seller��Pachinko) will be participating in discussions as part of the festival.

����vlog faculty will also serve as panel hosts and participants throughout the four days of programming.

On Friday, March 16 at 3:30 p.m., Assistant Professor of English Michael Robbins will discuss how art can help people make sense – or nonsense – of the world in “Equipment for Living: on Poetry and Pop Music” at the School of Communication and Media’s Presentation Hall on the ����vlog campus.

On Saturday, March 17 at 11 a.m., Professor of English Lucy McDiarmid will join a St. Patrick’s Day panel discussion titled “Irish Women: Revolution, Romance, and ‘The Troubles’” at The Guild Room at the First Congregational Church in Montclair. Also at 11 a.m., Associate Professor of English Laura Nicosia will participate in a panel discussion titled “Letters to��Secretary DeVos: What We’d Like to Discuss With You About Education”��alongside Professor of History Leslie Wilson at the Montclair Public Library Auditorium. She will also participate in a panel discussing the reinventing of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Genre at 2:45 p.m. in The Guild Room at Montclair’s First Congregational Church. Wilson will also present a discussion titled “Building the Great Society: Inside Lyndon Johnson’s White House”��at the Montclair Public Library Auditorium at 1:30 p.m.

At 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, Professor of Sociology Yasemin Besen-Cassino and Associate Professor of English Patricia Matthew will participate in a panel discussion titled “Women, Sex, Power, and the #MeToo Movement”��at the Montclair Public Library Auditorium. At 4 p.m., Assistant Professor of Justice Studies Jason Williams will present a panel discussion titled “‘They Can’t Kill Us All’: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement” at the Montclair Public Library Auditorium.

Professor of English and author David Galef will help close the festival on Sunday, March 18 at 10 a.m., with a workshop titled “Flash Fiction,” in which he will lead the audience through the possibilities of creating fiction stories in 1,000 words or less.

Kate Tobie led the Red Hawks with 11 points in the loss, while Katie Sire and Taylor Harmon each added 8 points in the setback.

On behalf of the ����vlog community, we congratulate the women’s basketball team on its outstanding season that included its sixth consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament championship and its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, in addition to the fourth trip to the round of 16 in program history.

The artist Chuck Hayden’s apartment just a few blocks from ����vlog is filled with paintings of the American West, cowboys and horses. Under the gaze of a bucking bull, a favorite rodeo motif (and yes, he once roped), Hayden practices the fingering and chords of the guitar.

On Mondays, he has a gig at his weekly lesson at the John J. Cali School of Music. At 90, Hayden is certainly the oldest of the students in class. But it is not unusual to find other interesting and interested adults engaged in musical and artistic pursuits at Montclair State. “When you get older and your kids are out of the house you can sit down and you can learn something,” Hayden says. “It’s fun.”

Music is just one genre in which Montclair State hits the right note in connecting with its neighbors. Children as young as age 3, beginners and advanced musicians refining their technique are taking classes at the . It’s among the non-matriculated, wide-ranging programming that shapes the University as a cultural, artistic and intellectual center for the community.

For the active mind, lecture series, interviews and discussions are free and open to the public. Internationally acclaimed artists and productions draw audiences to the Alexander Kasser Theater. Enrichment classes like biomimicry and aerodynamics motivate elementary students and teens.

“We were amazed to have a college environment available to our children,” says Dan Walker of Glen Ridge. His son William takes a class in music theory and has attended the Gifted & Talented summer academy. “In terms of maturity and letting your kids to grow, it’s fantastic. It has broadened William’s horizons and created awareness for all of us.”

The campus life is inspiring. William Walker, 13, has spent the past four summers challenged by engaging courses in science, technology, humanities, mathematics and the fine arts. “It does convey the experience I might have in college,” he says.

The classes are also life-enhancing. As a concert-goer at Cali School performances (more than 200 are presented each year), Hayden was inspired to add another instrument to his repertoire. He’s played the banjo for 80 years, loves jazz, and also plays the four-string tenor guitar.

On a recent morning, his lesson was accompanied by the notes of a piano and vocal warm-up floating through the open window of the studio. Hayden strums a steady rhythm pattern while switching between chords.

“It’s all so hard,” Hayden says. “Do you think I’ll ever learn this assignment?”

“You just did!” encourages his teacher Dan Spencer, a 2015 graduate of Montclair State.

Spencer is pursuing a recording career and is among the professional artist-teachers, music majors and Cali School faculty who provide the instrumental, voice and composition training to about 200 students. Some, like Beatrix Hittinger, 4, who takes Suzuki violin, are literally growing up in the program.

“Since we started her so young, I have loved seeing her grow and develop in musical ability,” says her mother Maria Hittinger of Montclair.

At home, Hayden’s instruments of all his arts, paints and music, take center stage in his living room. He picks up his guitar to play for his granddaughter, a sophomore at Montclair State.

“I practice a lot because I have a lot to memorize,” he says.

Find a listing of upcoming performances, discussions, interviews and events on our

A sampling:

• is a speakers’ series featuring notable artists, designers, art historians and art critics from around the world who come to campus to present their work and ideas.
• offers several initiatives from the College of the Arts.
  • Films and Filmmakers welcomes audience questions while being a forum to hear inside stories from some of the most innovative filmmakers working in the field today.��
  • Reel Montclair is a monthly discussion series featuring writers working in film and TV, from award-winning, seasoned scribes to new, emerging voices in cinematic storytelling.
• Leaders of the World is a new conference on ethics, education and the environment hosted by the Office of International Engagement.
• presents literary performances and opportunities to engage directly with writers about the creative process.
• hosts a new discussion series.
• The mounts acclaimed exhibits of work by leading contemporary artists.

is the renowned series of contemporary theater, dance, performance art and music. A highlight from fall 2017 included a talk with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on The Merchant of Venice. Ginsburg showed she is as well versed in Shakespeare as she is in constitutional law.

An open house for children and adults to learn more about the University’s music opportunities will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Chapin Hall. In the summer, Stokes Forest Music Camp provides music making and environmental studies at the University’s New Jersey School of Conservation campus.

For sports fans: minor league baseball and professional soccer’s call Montclair State home; offers exhibits and programs; have won five NCAA National Championships. Campus Recreation hosts children’s pool parties, and offers swim and scuba lessons and lifeguard training.

The University welcomes more than 200 high school juniors and seniors from across the United States and abroad to participate at its first-of-its-kind Hispanic Student College Institute (HSCI) from August 1-3, offering a slate of empowerment activities and hands-on career guidance to help them maximize future educational experiences. The innovative program encourages students to “think big” when envisioning their futures and the impact they can have on their respective communities after college.

“The Hispanic Student College Institute will provide these high-performing students with the tools they need to thrive in a college environment and make an impact at any institution they choose to attend,” says Vice President for Student Development and Campus Life Karen L. Pennington. “����vlog is committed to its status as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and to creating innovative programming such as the HSCI that will help these students continue their educational journeys successfully.”

With nearly half of the program’s participating students the first in their families to pursue a bachelor’s degree, the focus of the Institute is consistent with ����vlog’s goal of providing first-generation college students access to affordable, quality higher education. More than one-third of the University’s degree-seeking undergraduate students (35 percent) are the first in their families to attend college.

“The mission of ����vlog is one of providing access to a quality, affordable education to as many students as possible,” says Director of Undergraduate Admissions Jeffrey Indiveri-Gant. “But sometimes, navigating the ins and outs of the college preparation and search process can be a daunting task – particularly for students who are the first in their families to attend college. Our goal in starting the Institute is to help participants, many of whom are first-generation students themselves, to bridge that gap and get a jump-start on preparing for college. Ultimately, we hope many of our participants will decide that Montclair State is the place where their future begins.”

Through the Institute, students will engage in activities such as career exploration and aspirational thinking exercises, and will benefit from college-planning workshops on topics such as financial aid literacy, navigating the college search and application process, essay writing, and public speaking. Good Day New York reporter and Montclair State alumna Ines Rosales ’04 will serve as the keynote speaker for the second day of activities, and will be discussing her professional journey and her college experience as a Hispanic student.

The program will then guide students in applying their newly cultivated skills into practice through culminating events that include a college fair and mock college interviews. Students who participate in the Institute will be eligible for scholarships and receive certificates of completion to include on their resumes.

“We hope students will leave the Institute more confident and better prepared to take on the college search and application process,” says Jordanna Maziarz, Undergraduate Admission’s associate director for recruitment and community engagement and the program’s coordinator. “Of course, we ultimately hope all of the Institute students choose to apply to Montclair State and become Red Hawks. But we will be proud of them wherever they enroll when the time comes; if they can take what they learn at the Institute and successfully and confidently navigate the college process, then we have met our goal.”

Learn more on the .