Contact: Jim Gardner, Executive Director of Communications, (973) 596-3440
Contact: Carla Anderson, Director of Public Relations, (973) 596-3436
For Release: Immediate
Release Reference Number: 3373NJIT TO HOLD CORPORATE GRADUATION CEREMONIES AT NATIONAL STARCH AND CHEMICAL COMPANY Newark, N.J., Aug. 13, 1998 – Twenty-two employees of National Starch and Chemical Company will receive graduate certificates from New Jersey Institute of Technology without ever stepping foot on the Newark campus. Over the past year, NJIT, in a unique partnership with National Starch and Chemical, conducted the graduate classes in general management and polymer engineering at the company’s headquarters in Bridgewater, N.J., during early evening hours.
Graduation ceremonies will be held at National Starch and Chemical, Monday, Aug. 24, beginning at 9 a.m. NJIT President Saul K. Fenster and James A. Kennedy, chief executive officer at National Starch and Chemical Company and a member of NJIT’s Board of Trustees and chair of the university’s Board of Overseers, will preside over the ceremonies.
Seven of the eight courses offered thus far, which lead to graduate certificates in either general management or polymer engineering, were taught by NJIT faculty at the Bridgewater site. The eighth course was conducted using interactive television, allowing two-way audio and two-way video communication between classmates and professors.
The two certificates, each of which requires four courses totaling 12 credits, can be earned on a non-matriculated basis, thus creating a rapid and straightforward application process.
NJIT’s Division of Continued Professional Education designed the courses to meet the work-related educational needs of National Starch and Chemical Company employees.
"This is not an off-the-shelf product," said Gale Tenen Spak, associate vice president for continuing and distance education at NJIT. "NJIT and National Starch have worked together to design a curriculum that specifically meets the needs of National Starch employees. It’s one of the premier on-site higher education plans in the state."
National Starch and Chemical pays for tuition, fees, and books.
"National has been proactive in making these courses available to employees," said Bob Bacigalupo, manager of accounting systems for the company. "By providing the classes on site, the company allows students to juggle work, educational and personal commitments."
The graduate certificate can be a springboard to a full master’s degree from NJIT. Upon completion of the certificate and successful graduate admission acceptance, all 12 certificate credits can be applied to either a master of science degree in management or applied chemistry.
NJIT is a public research university enrolling nearly 8,200 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in 76 degree programs through its five colleges: Newark College of Engineering, School of Architecture, College of Science and Liberal Arts, the School of Management and the Albert Dorman Honors College. Research initiatives include multimedia, manufacturing, microelectronics, transportation, computer science, solar astrophysics, environmental engineering and science, and architecture and building science. U.S. News and World Report's "1998 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges" ranked NJIT among the nation’s top universities. Money magazine's "Best College Buys 1998" rated NJIT as the sixth best value among U.S. science and technology colleges and universities. Yahoo! Internet Life magazine ranks NJIT No. 2 on the list of "America’s Most Wired Colleges."
-end- NATIONAL STARCH EMPLOYEES WHO ARE CANDIDATES FOR NJIT GRADUATE CERTIFICATES General Management
Name Hometown
Robert Bacigalupo Flemington
Patricia Dmuchowski Neshanic Station
Scott Harris Somerset
George Hespe Belle Mead
Jean-Pierre Leblanc Bridgewater
Nikola Nikolic Three Bridges
James Nowicki Hopewell
Michael Patente Raritan
Chris Puglisi Mountainside
Lori Roti Basking Ridge
Gwenn Trapani Franklin Park
Melissa Vitale Upper Saddle River
Richard Zadjura Monmouth Junction
Polymer Engineering
Name Hometown
Shamsi Chu Randolph
Albert DeMoya Denville
Steven Paul Fenelli Hillsborough
Doreen Howard Plainsboro
Niketa Lad Parsippany
Jeffery Linzer Lebanon
Denise Pelley Piscataway
Matthew Sharak Franklin Park
Samuel Vona Bridgewater
{Back to NJIT News Releases Index}