Montclair State University is one of the few colleges in the state to both offer robust in-person instruction this fall and to allow students to live in dorms. As president, Cole is thus at the forefront of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She plans to retire at the end of the current academic year, but will lead the school through this challenging phase.
Higher education officials, public health experts and, of course, parents of students will be watching closely to see how MSU’s approach pans out, especially as other institutions around the country abandon their own plans to bring students back inside.
Before the pandemic, Cole was known mainly for her focus on the affordability of New Jersey colleges and on science/technology/engineering/arts/mathematics education (STEAM) to prepare students for high-demand careers. She wants to see more equitable allocation of funding to New Jersey’s public universities and a more rational system of distribution. She notes that public colleges in New Jersey were the fourth most expensive in the United States in 2018. Cole also showed leadership in January 2019 by hosting a forum for federal employees idled by the government shutdown.
But if Montclair State successfully completes a semester with students in classrooms and dorms, her legacy in retirement will be getting ahead of the curve on the pandemic.
