One University Many Dreams
Fairleigh Dickinson University Announces $100-Million Capital Campaign
Fairleigh Dickinson made history on December 4, as University officials announced the largest fundraising campaign ever, with $100 million as the target.
“We are aiming high because we have lofty goals and many dreams,” said President Christopher Capuano. “The projects in this campaign are integral to the continued growth and advancement of our institution and are aligned with our current strategic plan. But more than anything, the campaign will help more students transform their lives, and that’s the essence of what FDU is all about.”
The campaign publicly kicked off at a gala affair at the Park Avenue Club in Florham Park, N.J. “My dream is to ensure that every student who attends FDU receives a first-rate education that prepares them for success in their chosen field and helps them realize their dream,” Capuano said.
The night began with the FDU Choir. Then, students in the University’s theater arts program did dramatic readings of thank-you letters written by scholarship recipients to their benefactors. The evening also included a tribute to the late FDU Trustee Antoinette “Ann” Petrocelli.
“Our hope is that One University Many Dreams will help us to create educational experiences for our students that are illuminating, enlightening and instructive,” said Patrick Zenner, MBA’75 (Ruth), chair of the Board of Trustees.
An honorary alumna designation was bestowed upon long-time FDU supporter Peggy Jack, who created the William R. Lewis Scholarship for students in the Henry P. Becton School of Nursing and Allied Health and has supported it for more than 35 years.
Campaign Co-chair Christopher Johnson, BS’93 (Flor), introduced a video featuring alumni, students and University leadership discussing the vision for FDU’s future — which includes increased funding for scholarships, capital projects, athletics and academic programs.
Already, the campaign has attracted record-breaking gifts and pledges from alumni and friends in support of FDU’s strategic plan and academic priorities. During the silent phase, the University received commitments totaling more than $60 million.
After a video highlighting the history of Fairleigh Dickinson University and BD (Becton Dickinson & Company), Capuano discussed the personal, global and transformational nature of an FDU education. The company, which has supported FDU since its inception, pledged $2 million to the campaign.
“Philanthropy helps ensure that bright, ambitious and deserving young adults have the opportunity for an exceptional FDU education,” said Michael Moss, BS’75 (Flor), campaign co-chair.
Major projects will include a new Campus Union Building on the Metropolitan Campus and, at the Florham Campus, a new Science Building, the re-purposing of the existing Science Building into a state-of-the-art home for the Silberman College of Business and the expansion and upgrading of the athletics facilities.
“These four capital projects are game changers for our students,” Capuano added. “They have been carefully selected as part of our master facilities plan and as part of our intensive vision for the future that already has helped elevate many areas of the University. As we continue to transform lives, we are in the process of transforming FDU.”
Other areas of support include the new School of the Arts, the School of Public and Global Affairs and the health sciences. Campaign funds will also be dedicated to endowed gifts such as student scholarships.
“One University Many Dreams is an ambitious campaign that seeks to unify the University community and engage friends and partners in our mission,” said Rick Reiss, senior vice president for University advancement. It will bring “the best opportunities and resources to our students.”
In recognition of the transformational nature of these facilities and to encourage alumni and friends to support these institutional imperatives, the University will match, dollar-for-dollar, all contributions designated to the four capital projects.
“We want our alumni and donors to know that we are in this together,” said Capuano. “We’ve been preparing for One University Many Dreams for many years, and during that time the University has set aside resources to ensure the campaign’s success.”
Campus Union to Inspire
Jessica O’Brien, associate dean of students for union and campus engagement, says the Campus Union Building will be “a space that will exist for generations to come as the cornerstone of experiential learning and community interaction.”
Nina Marie Disla is a junior in the 4 + 1-year QUEST education program. As the Student Government Association president, she hopes “that the new Campus Union Building is a more modernized, innovative building. I believe it will attract more students to FDU’s Metropolitan Campus.” She also hopes for larger space available for events, clubs and organizations and areas for recreational use.
“Student organizations and Greek life play a huge role in terms of campus community here at the Metropolitan Campus,” says Disla. “We host over 1,000 events a year.”
To be located near the north entrance to campus, on what is known as the Commencement Green, the Campus Union Building will bring a “wow” factor to the campus and be the half-way point for both commuters and resident students, according to O’Brien.
Richard Pozo, a sophomore Latino Promise student, says, “Working in the Student Union Building has helped me connect with other students on campus. I think that the new Campus Union Building, in the heart of the campus, would be transformative for the community.”
The building will also be at the heart of sustainability efforts of the campus. “Plans for the Campus Union Build-ing include LEED-certification and sustainable materials, and the building will become a destination for interdisciplinary academic and student-based activities pertaining to sustainability,” says University Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Gillian Small.
Devils Athletics to Gain New Facilities
The first capital project in line for the Florham Campus is an expansion of the NCAA Division III athletics facilities adjacent to the Madison Avenue entrance to campus. This project will comprise a new all-turf field, surrounded by a running track and stadium-like bleachers. It will also feature locker rooms, restrooms and storage.
New baseball and softball fields are also part of the plan, as are additional areas for track-and-field throwing events and an area for overflow parking. “The new facilities will have a significant impact on our current teams and will add so much to our picturesque campus,” says Jenn Noon, director of Division III athletics. “New facilities bring high-caliber athletes. If you want to recruit the best, then they need to play in the best facilities.
“This project will enhance the overall student-athlete experience, by giving them the state-of-the-art facilities that our competitors already have.”
The improvements will also allow for utilization by clubs, intramurals and Greek life. “We are trying to create a new brand in Devils athletics, #HeatsRising,” Noon says, “and this will certainly aid in our venture.”
Noon would also like to see increased involvement of local residents in the surrounding communities — a fan base that will come out to games and support the athletes.
New Building to Be Dedicated to the Sciences
The largest capital project on the Florham Campus will be the construction of a new Science Building between the current Science Building and the Stadler/Zenner/Hoffmann-La Roche Academic Building. “To prepare students for the rigors of careers in the sciences, we must have attractive and technologically advanced classrooms and labs,” says Small.
It’s not just a building, but also a cutting-edge science facility that will be a hub for STEM research and education. The building will boast new instructional and collaborative spaces for student and faculty use; expanded research laboratories designed to be open, efficient and flexible; state-of-the-art research equipment; and a LEED-certified sustainable design.
“The new science facility will allow FDU to expand the sciences to meet increasing needs with creative, academically rigorous, advanced programs, allowing for interdisciplinary studies across the sciences,” says Small. “We envision a facility where our faculty are able to collaborate effectively, and where students will have maximum access to faculty, equipment and facilities,” she says. The building will provide the ideal space for undergraduates to participate in research projects and will also support investigation into critical scientific and social challenges.
One research area the University is starting to address is substance-abuse. The purpose of the FDU initiative is to create an interprofessional, multidisciplinary exchange of ideas, research and best practices around stemming the abuse of drugs, especially opioids, through a holistic, collaborative and cross-disciplinary approach.
The collaborative effort will be made up of both existing areas of study (pharmacy, nursing, psychology, molecular biology and criminal justice) and new areas under development at the University (physical therapy, occupational therapy, public health and social work).
Another area of focus will be environmental sustainability. Studying within a LEED-certified building will inspire students and faculty to work together to research and build on the understanding of creating a sustainable future. Interdisciplinary partnerships such as this will also strengthen prospects for women and minorities in STEM and encourage research and scholarship to benefit people in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan region and beyond.
Silberman College of Business to Get New Home
An updated Twombly Carriage House will suit the needs of an ever-expanding Silberman College of Business, uniting its various entities into one home. While retaining the beauty of its original design outside, the inside of the building will become a state-of-the-art facility for the school.
It will include smart classrooms, lecture halls and spaces for collaborative learning that will enable the school’s graduates to be well prepared to succeed and thrive in the workforce.
Breakout rooms can be used when employers come to interview on campus, or for small-group work that will more closely resemble the working world.
And, while FDU focuses on strengthening its core enterprise, it also moves forward with innovative programming that meets the imperatives of the 21st-century workplace, with online learning expanding the reach of the college.
The University will also seek to define and brand the Silberman College of Business with new programs in wealth management advisory (already a concentration and a minor at the undergraduate level) and an executive education that may lead to an online master’s degree program.
“Housing the College of Business, including wealth management programs, in what was one of the original Vanderbilt buildings on campus is a fitting way to link the University’s past with its future,” says Dean Andrew Rosman. “As the Vanderbilts epitomized wealth in the Gilded Age, Silberman College will exemplify the best of wealth management education in the 21st century.”
Transforming FDU Academics
New School of the Arts Launched in Fall 2018
Last fall, FDU’s newest school — the School of the Arts — made its debut. The school inducted its first official class in a special convocation featuring student performances on October 24.
“The School of the Arts is ready to deliver something very special and unique for our students,” says FDU President Christopher Capuano.
The school unites several programs into one dynamic training ground, linking writers, animators, actors, directors, painters, sculptors, musicians and filmmakers in an interdisciplinary environment. Geoffrey Weinman, dean of the Maxwell Becton College of Arts and Sciences, says “Collaboration is the operative word, as we bring students from across the arts disciplines together through a variety of interdisciplinary projects.”
Students enrolled in these arts majors will learn marketing and communication skills for use on the business side of the arts and culture industry. A capstone course focuses on moving into the marketplace. “Preparing students for the workplace, particularly one that is becoming increasingly dependent on the individual as an entrepreneur (the gig economy),” says Howard Libov, chair of the School of the
Arts and a professor of film, “is something we’ve been working with students on for the past few years.”
In addition, relationships with independent artists, nonprofits and corporations in the region will give students unparalleled insights into potential career paths.
The school has also introduced an MA and an MFA in animation, as well as two new tracks in the MFA in creative writing program: young adult writing and writing in translation. An MFA in film will launch in June.
The School of the Arts has been strengthened through an anonymous $500,000 gift. Campaign funds will be dedicated to improvements in the school’s studio space, scholarships and faculty development. So far, the school has been able to create a new dance studio for students to use for practice and rehearsals.
The school is in the process of evaluating current space with the intention of making additional facilities improvements going forward. Currently, in addition to the dance studio in the Ferguson Recreation Center and the theater and film studio in the Dreyfuss Building, the Barn Theater serves as a venue for new productions.
Weinman says that the School of the Arts project has been one of the most exciting and fulfilling in his career at FDU. “The excitement and enthusiasm this has created among both students and faculty is inspiring.”
School of Public and Global Affairs Growing
The School of Public and Global Affairs has been growing steadily at FDU, since the announcement of a $2.5-million gift from Jim Orefice, MA’91 (Metro), and The Orefice Family Foundation in 2016.
There is an overwhelming need for a new generation of civic-minded individuals to engage in public service, and to do so equipped to approach problems thoughtfully and analytically. The School of Public and Global Affairs sees public service as a calling, public administration a necessity and informed citizens as essential to a healthy society.
Peter Woolley, founding director of the School of Public and Global Affairs, says, “Our goal is to put graduate students in a position to get hands-on experience with resolving problems, doing practical research, writing white papers, collaborating on semester-long projects and competing with one another to offer policy innovations.”
The School of Public and Global Affairs was built on FDU’s master of public administration program, the FDU Poll and new and existing graduate programs in public administration and global affairs.
The Orefice family gift supports private scholarships for students studying in the school and will support distinguished visiting professors.
Woolley adds, “The Orefices’ donation makes it possible to give scholarships to outstanding graduate students and to invest in infrastructure, such as ITV rooms to join our students in Wroxton and Vancouver with New Jersey. Jim’s leadership has also sparked commitments from others.”
Orefice hopes that his family’s donation will spur students in a positive direction, helping them to become involved and concerned citizens. “It’s about getting them to jump off in the right direction and to know how to deal with world issues,” says the Teaneck, N.J., native. “Our greatest resource is the young people in our country.”
Orefice studied history at FDU, and is now a real-estate executive and owner of Ocean Properties. “I’m proud to be a part of this great mosaic,” he says. “As far as I’m concerned, with my family’s contributions, we’re a very small part of a very positive movement at FDU.”
Health Sciences Expanding
Building on the renowned Henry P. Becton School of Nursing and Allied Health and the School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the University views the health sciences as an area of tremendous growth in the years ahead.
As the population ages and health-care needs change, the face of health care continues to evolve, with emphasis placed on a team over one primary caregiver and provider. In the next phase of FDU’s pharmacy, nursing and health sciences programming, seed money and endowment funds will establish new academic options and expand the University’s footprint at its Park Avenue complex in Florham Park.
“A lot of what we have left to do here at FDU involves collaboration, bringing together programs in pharmacy, nursing, the allied health areas — as well as areas like biology and chemistry and the more traditional sciences — to think about how we can collaborate together and really get the best out of all of those entities,” says Michael Avaltroni, dean of the School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Plans include the creation of a master of health science, a master of science in physician assistant studies, a doctor of physical therapy and a master of public health. The long-term goal is the creation of a new College of Public Health and Health Professions, consolidating health-science offerings across the University under one umbrella.
Ed. note: A version of this article first appeared in the Winter/Spring 2019 edition of FDU Magazine.
