The number of highly influential academics throughout the state is almost too high to count. That’s why we decided to pick just a few honorees in a small sample of disciplines that are most impactful to the business community.
Administration
Tony Calcado
Executive vice president for strategic planning and operations, chief operating officer
Rutgers University
He oversees a budget of $450 million and is responsible for the stewardship of all of the university’s physical assets, totaling over 29 million square feet valued in excess of $12 billion.
Fadi Deek
Provost and senior executive vice president
New Jersey Institute of Technology
He was the architect behind NJIT’s pandemic recovery plan and its successful return to in-person learning and research, helping to bring students back to campus in a safe manner — all while helping NJIT yield two classes of top students as the Newark institution continues to raise its already-high profile.
Business
Lei Lei
Dean, Business School
Rutgers University
She is the founding director of the Rutgers Center for Supply Chain Management and is considered a national thought leader on the subject. Lei is not just the head of the state’s top business school, she regularly is voted one of the school’s top professors.
Bernard McSherry
Founding dean, School of Business
New Jersey City University
McSherry brings real-world experience while grooming the next generation of business leaders in Jersey City. The former business leader, entrepreneur and governor of the New York Stock Exchange is a perfect mentor.
Gregory Prastacos
Dean, School of Business
Stevens Institute of Technology
When you want to reimagine business education led by technological advances, you go to people such as Prastacos. That’s what the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business did.
Joyce Strawser
Dean, Stillman School of Business
Seton Hall University
School just completed the first year of a program that offers a degree-designated concentration in fintech for undergraduates. Seton Hall also recently launched the Center for Securities Trading and Business Analytics.
Entrepreneurship/innovation
Dale Caldwell
Executive director, Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham
A recognized thought leader on a variety of issues, Caldwell heads the Rothman Institute, which supports entrepreneurship and innovation in the academic, business and nonprofit communities.
Simon Nynens
CEO
New Jersey Innovation Institute
Nynens, a longtime entrepreneur and leader in the business world, is the perfect for NJII, which was founded at NJIT in 2014 and serves as the prototype of how universities can bring ideas in the academic world into the marketplace.
Rodney Priestley
Vice dean of innovation
Princeton University
He is the first-ever vice dean of innovation — a position created to cultivate interactions between Princeton faculty, researchers and students and outside partners in the nonprofit, corporate and government sectors.
Health science
Craig Fuller
Director, medical laboratory science and health sciences
Centenary University
Fuller, who earned his doctorate in infectious diseases and microbiology and his stripes working in hospitals and reference labs, is leading an initiative to help produce more medical lab scientists — the shortage of which was painfully apparent during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when there were extended delays processing test results.
Brian Strom
Inaugural chancellor, Rutgers Biomedical Health and Sciences
Rutgers University
The new $750 million cancer center — one that figures to exponentially improve care in the state — is just the latest project for Strom, who oversees eight schools and their attendant centers, institutes and clinics.
Law
Kathleen Boozang
Dean, Seton Hall Law
Seton Hall University
Boozang, who came to Seton Hall in 1990 as the founder of the Law School’s Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, has been dean since 2015. She provides a veteran presence to one of state’s top law schools.
Rose Cuison-Villazor
Interim co-dean, School of Law
Rutgers University-Newark
Cuison-Villazor, an expert in immigration and citizenship law, was the founding director of the Center for Immigration Law, Policy and Justice. She is the first Filipina-American dean of a U.S. law school.
Kimberly Mutcherson
Co-dean, School of Law
Rutgers University-Camden
She has been part of the law school for nearly two decades — and dean for two years. A graduate of Columbia Law School, her scholarly work often revolves around the intersection of family law, health law and bioethics.
Leadership
Bryan C. Price
Lieutenant colonel (retired), U.S. Army
Seton Hall University
The Buccino Leadership Institute believe leaders embody the 3 P’s: privilege, purpose and passion. They understand that leadership is a privilege, that leadership without purpose is meaningless and that passion is what inspires people to see you as a leader. It has been ranked No. 1 in a national award two years running.
Medical education
Robert Johnson
Dean, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Rutgers University
Heads the state’s oldest medical school, where he also is a professor of pediatrics and director of the division of adolescent and young adult medicine. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Annette Reboli
Dean, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
Rowan University
A board-certified infectious diseases specialist and epidemiologist, Reboli is committed to patient care, educating the next generation of physicians and solving some of the biggest health crises in history.
Bonita Stanton
Dean, Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine
Hackensack Meridian Health
Founding dean recently helped honor and celebrate the first graduating class of a medical school dedicated and determined to produce a next generation of doctors whose care is built around understanding how social determinants impact health.
Public policy/politics
Brigid Callahan Harrison
Professor of political science and law
Montclair State University
Her recent bid for a seat in Congress came up short, but that only adds to the credibility she brings as a thought leader on all things politics and government.
Ben Dworkin
Founding director, Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship
Rowan University
A widely respected political analyst, Dworkin came to Rowan in 2018 to create a leading institute for public policy that is helping mentor the next generation of public servants and leaders.
Patrick Murray
Founding director, Monmouth University Polling Institute
Monmouth University
No politician in Jersey ever claims, “The polls are wrong.” That’s how solid and respected Murray’s work is in the state and around the country.
Real estate
Morris Davis
Academic director, Center for Real Estate Studies
Rutgers University
The now-veteran leader of the center, Davis is helping to guide the next generation of real estate professionals — and doing so with great effort to ensure it will match the diversity of the state.
Don Moliver
Acting chair, Kislak Real Estate Institute
Monmouth University
Moliver helped found the Kislak institute in 2006, when Monmouth became the first university in New Jersey to offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the business of real estate. He returns as its leader after stepping down for his role as dean of Hess Business School.
Sales
Anthony Bowrin
Dean, Cotsakos College of Business
William Paterson University
School is one of a few in the country to offer a bachelor’s degree specifically in sales, through the Russ Berrie Institute, an innovative institute dedicated to elevating and advancing the field of sales as a profession. Institute, which is overseen by Rajiv Kashyap, hosts an annual sales competition.
Social equality and equity
Khristina Gonzalez
Director, Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity
Princeton University
Leads suite of programs that support first-generation, lower-income, veteran and nontraditional students. Center will serve as a hub for research and innovation in the field of college access and success.
Kimberly Killmer Hollister
Dean, Feliciano School of Business
Montclair State University
The AACSB-accredited program is ranked No. 14 in the country for people of color and No. 21 for women. The school offers general diversity workshops that discuss topics such as microaggressions, stereotypes, inclusion, social justice, privilege and more. Nearly 60% of students are of color.
Ana Siqueira
Director, Center for Socially Responsible Entrepreneurship and Innovation
William Paterson University
The center will support individuals from diverse backgrounds in developing organizations that align economic, social and environmental goals, and guide them in generating economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and social inclusion.
