William Paterson's undergraduate ceremony

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Commencement honorees (from left) Dr. Peter Fan, Carla Temple and Ben Jones with President Arnold Speert

Internationally acclaimed artist Ben Jones ’63 received the President’s Medal and honorary degrees were conferred on Ms. Carla Temple, former member of the University’s Board of Trustees, Peter Fan, MD, outgoing member of the Board of Trustees, and the Honorable Bonnie Watson Coleman, assemblywoman and majority leader, New Jersey General Assembly, as part of William Paterson’s 186th commencement ceremonies on May 19.

More than 1,700 undergraduate students received bachelor’s degrees during the morning ceremony, held under cloudless blue skies on Wightman Field. Thousands of family members and friends were on hand to celebrate with the graduates.

Ben Jones

President Arnold Speert urged the graduates to take advantage of the challenges posed by the uncertain financial environment. “Today’s economic situation may necessitate a willingness to change paths in new directions. It is a time for you to make difficult choices and decisions that contribute to the shaping of your future -- decisions that have the potential to distinguish you as professionals, as citizens of your communities, of the state and of our country,” he said.

Ben Jones, who graduated from the institution when it was known as Paterson State College, was awarded the President’s Medal for “his significant accomplishments as a painter, sculptor, mixed-media innovator, and curator; and for his strong advocacy that art is a cultural necessity.”

In his remarks, Jones recalled growing up in a poor neighborhood in Paterson as one of fifteen children. After graduating from Eastside High School in 1959, he enrolled at the college. “I had barely enough money to take the bus from Paterson,” he said. “I learned that if you want to succeed, you have to be three things: disciplined, focused, and committed. I couldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for this school. It made me value my intelligence.”

Carla Temple

Carla Temple, who served on the University’s Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2008, received an honorary doctor of laws degree. Temple, who recently retired after more than thirty years at State Farm, where she was the vice president of operations and vice president of agency for State Farm Insurance Company in New Jersey, encouraged the graduates to celebrate their achievements. “The importance of a university education doesn’t come from a downloading of information, but comes from exposure to a diverse faculty and an understanding of our differences,” she said. “The value of an education is in learning to think differently and broadly.”

An honorary doctor of science degree was awarded to Peter Fan, a senior attending surgeon at Hackensack University Medical Center who is stepping down from the Board of Trustees in June after ten years of service. “I give you three things to do in life,” he told the graduates. “First, to think, use your own head. Second, to be original. And third, never be afraid to seize upon new opportunities that present themselves.”

Peter Fan

Stephanie Staiano, who graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in business administration, delivered the address for the Class of 2009. She said the graduates were confident about their ability to thrive in life after college. “We’re greener, more technologically competent, and politically astute than previous generations. We helped create a new-found respect for Mother Earth, and made Myspace, Facebook and Twitter fashionable…Our generation WILL thrive,” she said.

At the graduate ceremony, held in the late afternoon in the Recreation Center, 314 students were awarded master’s degrees. Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, majority leader of the New Jersey General Assembly, received an honorary doctor of laws degree “for her passionate advocacy for those who are in need and marginalized, and for her commitment to finding real and lasting solutions to persistent problems in the State.”

Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman

Watson Coleman, the first African American woman to serve as majority leader, and the first woman to hold the position since 1964, encouraged the students to participate in public service. “No amount of public service is insignificant,” she said. “Anything you do in service to another, your community, or your country will carry with it a positive impact that will spread outwards, positively affecting other people, and hopefully, spurring them into action.”

Brian Propfe, who graduated with a master’s degree in education, addressed the graduates. “We are unique and can carve out our own niche,” he said. “We are the future and the future is now.”