Brookdale Board Approves Faculty Promotions

LINCROFT, NJ (May 1, 2015) – The Brookdale Community College Board of Trustees voted on April 30 to promote 20 college faculty members and grant tenure to eight instructors. Four staff members were also honored with official performance recognitions.

The annual vote, taken during the board’s monthly public meeting in Lincroft, followed an extensive college-wide evaluation process including student opinion reports, classroom monitoring and detailed assessments by faculty and administrators.

Eight college instructors were granted tenure, including six who were promoted to assistant professor. Brookdale instructors must have at least five years experience to be considered for tenure.

Seven assistant professors were also promoted to the rank of associate professor and seven associate professors were promoted to the rank of full professor. All promotions will be effective Sept. 1.

The promoted faculty members represent more than a dozen college departments, including English, music, biology, nursing and economics.

“Our faculty are dedicated, innovative and they have truly earned the promotions we are giving them tonight,” said speech Professor Catherine Blackburn, chair of Brookdale’s college-wide faculty promotion committee. “We are excited to have them lead us into a strong, vibrant future here at Brookdale.”

Promoted to full professor were: Roseanne Alvarez, English; Joseph Boyle, sociology; Celeste Chirichello, interior design; Eric Goll, chemistry; Lisa Hailey, engineering and technology; Robin Smith, nursing; and David Wiseman, psychology.

Promoted to associate professor were: Chad Anderson, communication media; Brandon Gramer, English; Keith Heimann, music; Sarah Leahy, economics; Andrew Panitz, mathematics; George Reklaitis, history; and Nambrath Wesley, psychology.

Promoted to assistant professor and granted tenure were: Joseph Essilfie, mathematics; Cheryl Fencik, biology; Charles Mencel, English; Abdul Kamara, mathematics; Gitanjali Kundu, biology; and Ashley Tasy, mathematics.

Granted tenure were: Diane Booker, nursing; and Paula Padavano, mathematics.

The newly promoted faculty will help lead Brookdale’s redesigned academic and student service institutes, which will be rolled out during the 2015-16 academic year.

College officials announced the new deans for those institutes in early 2015. The new operating structure is part of a comprehensive reorganization plan at Brookdale, designed to create clearer pathways for student success and eliminate redundancy among college programs.

The board also awarded certificates of recognition on April 30 to two Brookdale learning assistants and two members of the Outreach, Business and Community Development division for their outstanding work during the year.