We caught wind of two alumni who participated in athletic feats of endurance this fall. Thomas Ruggia ’98, CEO of Samsara Vision and TCNJ Foundation board member, completed the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Heather Fehn ’94, MA ’96, the college’s chief of staff to the president, finished the Berlin (Germany) Marathon, which is… Continue Reading
Goaltending for a Division I club ice hockey team is a childhood pipe dream come true. My dad took me to see the New York Rangers play the New Jersey Devils when I was 6 years old. Henrik Lundqvist was the Rangers’ goalie. His play was so athletic and he made a lot of flashy… Continue Reading
Barbara Gitenstein writes a memoir of the life that set her up to lead. Throughout her life, R. Barbara Gitenstein, former president of TCNJ, has held books and scholarship in the highest esteem. Her pursuits since she retired from the college in 2018 indicate she still does. She recently published a memoir; and she and… Continue Reading
A growing number of students turn to pets for comfort. Kaela Edwards ’23 started her college career rather uneventfully. She was a public health major and a member of the TCNJ trackand field team. Despite having some mild depression and social anxiety inhigh school, she settled in well to thecollege experience. But early in her… Continue Reading
Christine Girtain ’94 leads the way in science education. When Christine (Stenzel) Girtain ’94 won the 2022–23 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year she felt it validated the hard work she’s put into her 28-year career as a science teacher in the Toms River Regional School District. In her role as director of authentic… Continue Reading
Meet TCNJ’s academic deans. A first for the college, they are all female. 1. Sunita Kramer, Science “Science has become more specialized as our knowledge has advanced. Addressing the most complex societal problems will require collaboration and opportunities for students to engage in creative, cross-disciplinary problem-solving.” Fun fact: “I love to grow plants, vegetables, and… Continue Reading
At the intersection of brains and brawn is TCNJ’s strength and conditioning coach. I am half meathead, half exercise scientist. I like to lift big, but I also want to do it the right way so that I don’t burn myself or my athletes out. I was always a big kid. As a high school… Continue Reading
The TCNJ community remembers Clayton Brower’s legacy. Clayton R. Brower, 13th president of the college and namesake of the Brower Student Center, died on June 30 at the age of 99. Brower’s first interaction with the college was in the 1950s, when he served as assistant superintendent of schools in Plainfield, New Jersey. Back then,… Continue Reading
For this tennis ace from California, balance is the name of the game. I’m very passionate when I play tennis. I’ll do whatever it takes to win. But that has also caused a lot of mental strain. I can be very hard on myself — I’m a perfectionist. My mom and my dad raised me… Continue Reading
The college welcomes its first sustainability czar, and he hits the campus running. Paul Romano describes the evolution of his career in three chapters: his start as a conventional architect, his research conducted at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and his efforts to reduce carbon emissions on behalf of Con Edison, the New York… Continue Reading