WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY TO HOLD MID-YEAR COMMENCEMENT ON JANUARY 27

William Paterson University in Wayne will celebrate its mid-year commencement on Sunday, January 27, 2001 at 1 p.m. in the Rec Center on campus. In the event of snow or severe inclement weather, the ceremony will be held on Monday, January 28 at 7 p.m.

Robert Chandross, the University’s Visiting Distinguished Scholar for the 2001-2002 academic year, will be the commencement speaker. The ceremony marks the institution’s 174th commencement.

A total of 800 students are scheduled to receive degrees at the event. Bachelor’s degrees will be conferred on 693 undergraduates; 107 students will receive master’s degrees. All graduates will have completed their degree requirements between August and December, 2001.

Saul Fenster, president of New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), who is retiring from his position in summer 2002, will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree. Fenster, a mechanical engineer, has been president of NJIT since 1978. During his tenure, Fenster transformed what was a small engineering school into a nationally known public research university.

President Arnold Speert will address the graduating class along with Angela Sarrica of Kearny, senior class president. Cho Kin Leung, a professor of economics, finance and global business, senior faculty member in the University’s Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business, will lead the academic procession in the role of University marshal. Graduates will be recognized individually by college and major as they proceed to the platform, where the college dean will award the diploma.

Chandross is an economist with a broad range of experience in the financial services industry. He most recently served as senior vice president and chief economist for HSBC Bank USA/Republican National Bank of New York. While there, he served as the bank’s primary delegate to the Institute of International Finance, through which he traveled on several research missions to emerging market economies. He was also one of a very limited number of private sector economists invited to attend economic symposia organized by the Federal Reserve Banks and other organizations. Previously, Chandross was vice president and chief economist for the Treasury Division of Lloyds Bank. He has also held appointments at Kidder Peabody & Co., Argus Research Corporation, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. A graduate of New York University, Chandross holds master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Princeton University.

William Paterson University, one of the nine state colleges and universities in New Jersey, offers 30 undergraduate and 18 graduate programs through five colleges: Arts and Communication, Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the University enrolls approximately 10,500 students and provides housing for nearly 2,300 students. The institution’s 363 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, many of whom are recipients of prestigious awards and grants from the Fulbright Program (25 scholars), the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Philosophical Society.

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1/15/02
For Further Information, contact:

Mary Beth Zeman, Director, Public Relations 973-720-2966