Stockton News - July 14, 2023
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
Nearly $700,000 Grant Will Tag N.J. Harbor Seals for First Time
Everyone has seen bottlenose dolphins swimming near beaches in the summer. You might also catch a humpback whale or two off the coast.
But did you know that harbor seals also have a regular seasonal home in South Jersey?
“A lot of people aren’t aware that harbor seals occur in New Jersey,” said marine mammal biologist Jackie Toth Sullivan, who’s also an adjunct faculty member at Stockton. “This is likely because seals are here in large numbers during the winter months. There aren’t that many people on the beach or on the water in January, February or March.”
Sullivan said for years, as many as 360 seals have gathered to rest and forage in Great Bay — the largest haul-out site in New Jersey. Two other known haul-out sites include Sandy Hook – Gateway National Recreation Area (about 100 seals) and Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island (about 30 seals). The seals begin to gather in October and November and usually stay through March or April in large numbers, she said.
Stockton Receives Record $42.18 Million from State Budget
Stockton will receive a record $42.18 million in state aid from the fiscal year 2024 budget approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last week.
The funding is a 17.7% increase from 2023’s $35.8 million and a 129% increase over the amount Stockton received five years ago, $18.4 million.
“This additional funding will go a long way toward helping Stockton continue to fulfill its students-first mission of developing engaged and effective citizens,” said President Joe Bertolino. “It will allow us to mitigate the cost of higher education and provide more opportunities for first-generation and economically disadvantaged students.”
📰 In the News: Philadelphia Business Journal
Fall BOT Projects a Success
During the fall 2022 term, four students were selected for the Board of Trustees Fellowship for Distinguished Students. Since then, the students have worked hard to complete their research and to begin implementing their projects.
SPOTLIGHT ON: MICHAEL BARANY
Michael Barany, director of the Military and Veterans Success Center (MVSC), was both honored and
humbled when he learned he was the recipient of the "Best Partner in Service to Veterans" award from the New Jersey American Legion.
Barany, who joined Stockton in October 2021, was given the award during the American Legion's 2023 Convention in Wildwood.
"I received this award because of the work myself and my staff in the MVSC did in hosting, supporting and feeding participants of the NJ American Legion's Veteran's Housing Symposium on Nov. 3, 2022, held at the Atlantic City campus," Barany said. "The Symposium brought together public and private veteran stakeholders to examine more long-term housing solutions rather than short-term housing options for homeless veterans."
WHAT'S TRENDING @ #STOCKTONU
Instagram: See what advice our #Ospreys have for President Joe 🤳💙🦅☕️
Twitter: If you've ever foraged through the #StocktonU forest, you've surely found wild blueberries.
Facebook: When he was young, DJ Campbell went to a basketball camp in Vineland. That experience "changed my life forever," he said.
📣 Have you checked out our latest social media account? Find us on Threads @stocktonuniversity.
FROM THE SIDELINES
120 Ospreys Qualify for NJAC All-Academic Team
A total of 120 Stockton student-athletes qualified for the 2022-23 New Jersey Athletic Conference All-Academic Team for their work in the classroom. Track & field competitor Max Klenk and two-sport athlete Brynn Bowman of the women’s tennis and golf teams collected NJAC All-Academic First Team recognition.
Track & field competitor Mike Carfagno was an NJAC All-Academic Second Team selection for the second straight year. Women’s lacrosse player Kerstin Axe joined Carfagno on the NJAC All-Academic Second Team. In addition to Bowman, Klenk, Carfagno and Axe, 116 Ospreys snagged NJAC All-Academic Honorable Mention spots.
'ROLE' CALL
Zach Veneziano joined University Advancement as an associate director of Development, effective June
19. In his new role, Veneziano will work to establish relationships and maintain existing
relationships with donors, both alumni and nonalumni, that give to the Stockton Foundation
and the countless funds Stockton hourses. He previously was a director of sales in
the surf industry, managing a national sales team and international accounts. Before
that, Veneziano worked as a marketing coordinator for a network of privately owned
veterinary hospitals in southern New Jersey (Mount Laurel Animal Hospital, Pennsauken
Animal Hospital, Art City Veterinary Hospital, Absecon Veterinary Hospital and Cape
Veterinary Hospital). He received his bachelor’s degree in Sales & Marketing from
Stockton in 2017.
💭 You’d never guess: 🐱🦎🐶🏄♂️“My fiancé and I have four cats, three dogs, three guinea pigs and one gargoyle gecko. A small functioning zoo in our household! I also surf all year in New Jersey and have traveled to surf in New York, New England, Delaware, Maryland, Puerto Rico, California and Oahu (Hawaii).”
UPCOMING EVENTS
📚 Summer 2023 Professional Development Opportunities
Now-July 26: Ireland at Home and In America
Now-July 28: 👟 Atlantic City Walking Tours
Now-Sept. 24: The Souls Shot Portrait Project
Now-Sept. 29: Fred Staloff: Origins of a Modernist
July 16-22: SEBA Summer Entrepreneurship and Business Academy
Aug. 2-23: America & Vietnam: 1955-1975
Aug. 6: 🎡Stockton Day at Morey’s Piers
Aug. 13: Stockton Summer Splash at Wonder Bar
