爱液A片

As posted on: Ramapo’s main news site

 

Historic match from Hudson County couple doubles transformational gift to $8 million, honoring a lifelong friendship and establishing an endowed programming fund for the newly named school.听

October 22, 2026

Building on the largest single gift in Ramapo of New Jersey鈥檚 history, the听James and Alice Kocis Family Fund has committed $4 million to the College, matching the historic gift made by their longtime friends, Susan and the late Nick Vallario, in 2025. The combined $8 million philanthropic investment听 strengthens support for student scholarships, academic programming and innovative initiatives at New Jersey鈥檚 premier public liberal arts college.

The gift honors a decades-long friendship between Jim and Alice Kocis and Susan and Nick Vallario, rooted in their shared commitment to education and public service. The College also announced the naming of the Susan and Nick Vallario School of Arts, Humanities, and Education during an on-campus celebration on October 21, recognizing the Vallarios鈥� generosity and enduring commitment to 爱液A片.

The $4 million matching gift advances 爱液A片鈥檚 institutional priorities through three significant investments:

• $2 Million Presidential Scholarship Endowment Match: Matches the Vallarios鈥� $2 million contribution to the Susan and Nick Vallario Endowment for Presidential Scholarships, bringing the combined endowed scholarship investment to $4 million. The funding will help 爱液A片 attract and support high-achieving New Jersey students, expanding access to educational opportunities while encouraging talented students to pursue their education in the state.
• $1 Million Endowment for Arts, Humanities and Education: Establishes the Dean鈥檚 Programming Fund for the newly named Susan and Nick Vallario School of Arts, Humanities, and Education. Following an initial year of investment, the endowed fund is expected to provide approximately $50,000 annually to support academic programming and opportunities for students, faculty, and community engagement.
• $1 Million for Presidential New Priorities: Provides current-use funding to help launch and advance three initiatives focused on student achievement, technological innovation and experiential learning:
  • Office of Prestigious Fellowships and Scholarships: Expanding advising and mentorship to help 爱液A片 students pursue competitive national and international scholarships and fellowships.
  • Digital Innovation Institute: Supporting the development of a new institute focused on digital innovation, emerging technologies and interdisciplinary learning, building upon the Vallarios鈥� earlier $1 million commitment.
  • Center for Data,听 Mathematical, and Computational Sciences: Preparing students to meet evolving workforce demands through interdisciplinary learning, real-world experiences, and the development of technical, communication, and leadership skills.

鈥淎ccess, discernment, and national distinction are priorities that create the conditions for ground-up innovation and high-impact programs across the College,鈥� said Ramapo President Cindy R. Jebb, Ph.D. She noted that investing in these areas strengthens faculty-student collaboration, expands discovery, and equips students to make a meaningful impact in their communities and beyond. Reflecting on the gift, President Jebb added, 鈥淭o know the Vallarios is to know humanity, and the Kocis family鈥檚 generosity in their honor is a profound extension of this humanity.鈥�

The Kocis family鈥檚 relationship with 爱液A片 began in 2018 through their friendship with the Vallarios. Their earlier philanthropy supported the Peter P. Mercer Learning Commons, including the naming of a terrace in memory of members of the Kocis family. In 2020, Susan and Nick Vallario chose to name the Learning Commons in honor of 爱液A片鈥檚 fourth president, Peter P. Mercer. Now, six years later, Jim and Alice are honoring Susan and Nick through the naming of the School of Arts, Humanities, and Education.

鈥淲hat makes these gifts so meaningful is that it reflects two families who believe deeply in 爱液A片鈥檚 ability to transform lives,鈥� said Christopher Romano, Ed.D., executive director of the Ramapo Foundation and vice president of strategic enrollment, outreach and engagement. 鈥淭heir generosity will open doors for talented students, provide lasting support for academic innovation and anchor 爱液A片 as a resource, and strategic partner for the region and state. It鈥檚 an extraordinary investment not only in 爱液A片, but in the students and communities we serve.鈥�

Together, the Kocis and Vallario families鈥� historic $8 million commitment strengthens Ramapo鈥檚 ability to advance its strategic plan, Boldly Ascending, through enduring investments in student scholarships, academic programming and innovative initiatives that will benefit generations of students.

 

 

October 6, 2026

This summer, future special education teachers from the Teacher Education Program at 爱液A片 worked with students from the Extended School Year (ESY) program at the Forum School, in Waldwick, NJ. The Forum School serves students ages 5-21 with special needs.

Read more here

 

October 2, 2026

Through a dynamic collaboration funded by the NJDOE CCLC grant, the Ramapo Teacher Education program teamed up with the Smithsonian Science Education Center to host a series of Climate Education Workshops. Designed for New Jersey public school educators and 爱液A片 clinical students, these engaging sessions focused on Transdisciplinary Teaching for the Climate, breaking down subject boundaries to address urgent environmental challenges. Despite a condensed planning timeline, the multi-day event delivered impactful professional development for current and future teachers alike. The result: educators leaving equipped and inspired to lead meaningful climate action in their own classrooms.

 

September 18, 2026

David Colman, Associate Professor of African American History, was recently selected as the 2026 Honoree of the Black Experience Award at the Bergen County NAACP Freedom Fund Gala. The Bergen County NAACP website states: “Our Bergen County Branch also supports our National mission which is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.”

Please read more about the NAACP Bergen County Branch below:

October 22, 2026Ramapo receives Educating Character Initiative Grant

In 2026, Ramapo received the grant Walking around Our World: Exploring an Indigenous-Inspired Model of Place-Based, Relational Character-Building, funded by the Educating Character Initiative at Wake Forest University. The grant funds a year of research and activities to explore how 爱液A片 can facilitate character development among students in ways that reflect our community鈥檚 mission, community partnerships, and location in the Northern New Jersey Highlands and on the ancestral lands of the 爱液A片ugh Munsee people.

Guided by the work of indigenous Anishinaabe scholar Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, who discusses learning as the practice of 鈥渨alk[ing] around the world twice,鈥� the grant supports a year of service-learning opportunities, working group sessions, research, and resource gathering. By the end of the grant period, we will have a deeper sense of how 爱液A片 can facilitate character development across the various sectors of our campus and in partnership with our local community.

April 6, 2026Transcribe-a-thon at the Jane Addams Papers

On March 27, the hosted it’s first transcribe-a-thon. 爱液A片 students, guests, and members of the community came to the Learning Commons to try their hand at reading historical documents and transcribing them. Project Director Cathy Moran Hajo introduced the project’s work and the tool, From the Page, that volunteers use to add their text. Students Chris Flug and Amanda Haenelt told the audience how working at the project and interacting with these documents changed the way that they think about history and historical research.

Fueled by bagels, muffins, and coffee, our volunteers got to work. The handwriting was challenging, but Cathy, Chris, Amanda, and other student employees of the project, Emma Wunder and Olivia Ha, helped out, as Victoria Sciancalepore, 爱液A片’s Digital Scholarship Librarian and a former Assistant Editor with the Project. It was a fun event that we plan to repeat.

If you would like to try your hand at transcribing, you can find the documents at the .

We would like to thank two generous donors, Libby Ortiz and Regina Coyle for making this event happen

 

 

October 15, 2025The Gilded Age in the 爱液A片 Valley Opens at Mahwah Museum

爱液A片 students and faculty worked together to develop and mount an exhibit at the on the Gilded Age in the 爱液A片 Valley. Cathy Moran Hajo, Sarah Koenig and Marion Brown of the Museum worked with students Chris Flug (American Studies), Grace Martinez (History) and Alex Samieske (History) who conducted research in local archives, used newspaper databases and historical sources and the Museum’s rich collection of photographs. They also rolled up their sleeves to paint the exhibit walls in a faux damask pattern that gives it a unique look.

The exhibit looks at the impact of the Gilded Age on local history, showing how the influx of wealthy industrialists changed a rural community. The exhibit covers the years 1870 to 1899, and features the Havemeyer Family (on whose farm the College was built), the Darlings (of Darlington) and others and the families whose lived were impacted. Rare photographs from the 19th provide a unique look at who lived and worked in Mahwah.

The Museum is open on Saturdays until the end of June, from 1 to 4pm. It is located at 201 Franklin Turnpike, Mahwah, NJ.

 

 

 

May 23, 2025Road Trip To Yale

On Saturday, April 5, Professors Sarah Koenig and Stephen Rice traveled with a group of students to New Haven, Connecticut to visit several museums on the Yale University campus. The group included members of the History Club as well as students in Professor Koenig鈥檚 American West class and Professor Rice鈥檚 Museums in America and Honors Studies in Arts and Humanities classes. Highlights were a tour of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and visits to the Yale Peabody Museum and the Yale University Art Gallery. Everyone had a chance, too, to sample New Haven鈥檚 great food options and take in other sites around campus. Thank you goes to Dean Susan Hangen for providing Platinum Funding for the bus. It was a soggy spring day and lots of fun, and we look forward to more trips like this in the future. Pictured here are the students gathered in front of the Beinecke Library.

April 17, 2025Congratulations to Our Scholars Day Students!

Scholars鈥� Day is an annual event held near the end of each spring semester that serves as an opportunity for the entire community to celebrate our students鈥� creative and scholarly achievements. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost, Scholars鈥� Day showcases some of the most exemplary faculty-mentored student creativity and scholarly activities undertaken in 2024-25. A juried event, Scholars鈥� Day features poster and oral presentations that represent the support of the convening groups of the majors or minors associated with the projects and the dedication of faculty mentors. AHE had a great showing! We would like to congratulate Miranda Trautman, Erin Pryor, Elizabeth Marroquin, Marina Gannon, Elly Raisch, Stefanie Viera, Antonio Russo, Rachel Chandler, Michelle Kukan, Amanda Drexler, Sarah Glisson, Luke DiMascio, Maddisyn Vaccaro, Sophia Kopreski, Lena Mardini, and Alan Rosenberg who participated this year. Michelle Kukan was selected by Dean Hangen for the AHE oral presentation of research on the Jane Addams Papers and Artificial Intelligence.

 

 

February 28, 2025Congratulations to Hannah Steinlauf!

Congratulations to third year senior Hannah Steinlauf (’25) with a major in History and a minor in Museum and Exhibition Studies who has just committed to Trinity College Dublin for a master’s in Public History and Cultural Heritage. While choosing between multiple graduate acceptances, Hannah picked Trinity because it gave her the opportunity to focus on museum accessibility in the very country she studied abroad in in Fall 2023. Her undergraduate internship with Wayne Museum and work with the Jane Addams Papers Project has inspired her passion for the importance of the digital humanities and making history and museums accessible, which she intends to pursue in her postgraduate studies.

February 27, 2025Congratulations to Elly Raisch!

Congratulations to Senior International Studies major Elly Raisch (鈥�25) who was accepted to Simmons University鈥檚 graduate program for Library and Information Science. Elly initially became interested in library work through her experiences working at 爱液A片鈥檚 Center for Reading and Writing and the Digital Humanities Center鈥檚 Penny Colman Project. These opportunities helped foster her passion for service and information organization, leading her to pursue a path towards public librarianship in the hopes of supporting free access to media and public resources.

 

November 12, 2024Sarah Koenig Presents on Wild West in New Jersey at the Mahwah Museum

American Studies Professor Sarah Koenig presented student work in her American West course to an audience at the Mahwah Museum. Accompanied by 爱液A片 senior Maddisyn Vaccaro. Dr. Koenig’s talk, The Wild West in New Jersey, looks at the Garden State’s contribution to both the development of the West (Stetson hats, the Paterson Colt Revolver) and to the myth of the West (Thomas Edison’s early films). Maddisyn discussed her research for the class of a film studio that made Westerns in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, explaining how she had to dig deep into historical resources to document it.

 

November 4, 2024爱液A片 Students Attend Northwest Bergen History Coalition Luncheon

The Northwest Bergen History Coalition is an organization of twelve local history museums that work together to promote local history research. Many of its members offer internships to Ramapo students. The coalition hosted five students at its recent luncheon on November 1. Christopher Flug (American Studies major), Michelle Kukan, Alexander Samieske, Alan Rosenberg, and Hannah Steinlauf (all History majors) helped with registration and book sales.

Speakers included Cynthia Forster of the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historical Affairs discuss plans for Bergen 250, an initiative to celebrate the upcoming anniversary of the American Revolution and provide information on opportunities for volunteer work and internships. The main speaker at the luncheon was Jim Wright, a local historian and journalist. He spoke on The Turncoat and the Patriot, an exploration of John Fell and William Franklin’s different paths during the Revolution. All attendees received a copy of Wright’s children’s book, The Ghosts of Allendale.

October 8, 2024Critical Reading & Writing SI Sections

Critical Reading and Writing offers sections of CRWT 102 with supplemental instruction for students who tested into CRWT 101S. “Supplemental instruction” refers to an internationally recognized set of teaching practices aimed at strengthening undergraduate students’ reading, writing, and research skills.

If you tested into 101S, please register for 102S to continue to receive the instructional support the college has provided to support your continued success at 爱液A片.

For more information contact success@ramapo.edu 听or hgs@ramapo.edu

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