New Jersey City University awarded nearly 1,700 degrees, including an 8.2% increase in undergraduate diplomas, during a pair of commencement ceremonies at Red Bull Arena in Harrison Wednesday.
The 1,667 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees were handed up for students in the School of Business and the College of Professional Studies, the William J. Maxwell College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), the Deborah Cannon Partridge Wolfe College of Education and and CAS/Education dual-degree program.
It was the first time NJCU held its ceremony at Red Bull Arena.
NJCU Interim President Andrés Acebo presided over his second commencement ceremony as the leader of the university. Bettina L. Love, a professor and New York Times best-selling author, was the commencement speaker and received an honorary doctorate degree.
Tekla Tchelidze, a Biology major who immigrated to the U.S. from the Republic of Georgia in the Caucasus region, delivered the student response from the Class of 2024. The international student transferred from Tbilisi State University in Georgia. She currently serves as the president of the Biology club, as a supplemental instruction tutor and is a member of the Leadership Honor Society.
In total, NJCU conferred 1,228 undergraduate, 420 graduate and 19 doctoral degrees during the two ceremonies — an 8.2% increase in bachelor’s degrees from 2023 and a 3.4% increase in graduate degrees.
The William J. Maxwell College of Arts and Sciences conferred 596 undergraduate degrees, with Psychology (123), Biology (111), and Computer Science (76) the largest majors. The School of Business graduated 283 students, with Management (101) and Accounting (64) having the largest focus. The College of Professional Studies had Criminal Justice (92) and Nursing (87) among its graduates, while the Deborah Cannon Partridge Wolfe College of Education continued to prepare teachers for New Jersey’s classrooms, highlighted by 221 Master’s and 15 doctoral degrees conferred.
NJCU also honored its Golden Gothics — representatives of its milestone 50th anniversary class of 1974.
