In her 23 years as president of Montclair State University, Dr. Susan A. Cole has made a huge impact on the institution’s diversity, equity and inclusion.
Over the past two decades, enrollment at Montclair State University has more than doubled and its position within New Jersey public institutions has grown in prestige. Leading the university through these past 23 years has been Cole, who last fall announced she would step down this summer after her successor takes office.
When Cole assumed the presidency in 1998, she was the institution’s first female president. White students made up 64% of the student body and Latinx students comprised just 15%. Today, Latinx students are 29% of the student population and Montclair State University is designated a Hispanic Serving Institution. The percentage of African American students has also risen from 10% to 13%.
New Jersey has a large Latinx population. Cole’s goal from day one was that the population of the university should look like the population of the society it serves.
“This institution fundamentally believes — this is the culture of the institution — that you cannot have a just and prosperous society if it does not provide the opportunity for full participation and achievement to all its people,” Cole says. “Participation and achievement require education.”
Dr. Harvey Kesselman, president of Stockton University (another public institution in New Jersey), praises Cole as a leader, referring to her as a “pillar of strength on social justice issues.” Having collaborated with Cole on various projects to advance higher education in New Jersey, he says she has expanded opportunities for first-generation and low-income students, and her efforts have impacted public higher education in New Jersey and beyond.
“We all respect her opinion on issues,” says Kesselman, who serves as chair of the New Jersey Presidents’ Council, of which Cole is a past chair. “She’s very pragmatic and very committed to those students who have not had access to higher education in the past.”
