Innovation New Jersey
  • Home
  • Our Coalition
    • Contact Us
  • News
  • Resources
    • State Supports
    • Federal Supports
    • Higher Ed Supports
  • Join Us

Innovation News

Everything Innovation. Everything New Jersey.
Follow us and stay connected.

Stockton University Doctoral and Master’s Graduates Urged ‘Never Stop Learning’

5/13/2016

0 Comments

 
Galloway, NJ ― Graduates at Stockton University’s Doctoral and Master’s Commencement today were urged to “never stop learning,” and to “be the change in your world,” by speaker Elaine Bukowski, a professor of Physical Therapy who has taught at Stockton for the past 29 years, including serving as director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, the university’s first doctoral program.
 
Bukowski, who also has worked in a variety of settings in the United States and West Africa, including inpatient rehabilitation, oncology, nursing home, home care and outpatient physical therapy, told the graduates she was initially discouraged from applying to college.
 
“I remember being told early on in high school, ‘take secretarial classes because you will never make it to college,’” she said. “I did not let that stop me. Here I am, many years and three degrees later. Remember: Set your goals high…and know that you can reach them, just like you have reached today’s goal with your graduation.”
 
Bukowski spoke to over 170 graduates, their families and friends in the Sports Center on the main Galloway campus, at the first of Stockton’s three graduation ceremonies this spring. 
​Baccalaureate commencements will be held on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. A total of about 1,500 graduates are expected to participate in the ceremonies, as members of the largest graduating class in Stockton’s history. 
 
Bukowski, who is also a practicing clinician providing pro bono services, talked about treating an orthopedic outpatient whose wife called later that day to say how much better he felt. She quoted Maya Angelou who said; “‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’”
 
“The Stockton you entered is not the Stockton you are leaving,” Bukowski continued. “Like the Stockton that has changed, as you apply the knowledge you have gained over these past few years you will create changes in people’s lives, meaningful changes that make all the difference to them. This is the responsibility that comes with your degree. No matter how big or small the change, hopefully the people with whom you engage will remember how you made them feel.
 
“The world you live in today is very different from the world into which you were born,” she continued. “All of your fields have witnessed many advances. Use them for the good of the people you serve. Never be afraid to try new things and look at your world in a new way.”
 
Bukowski was awarded Stockton’s Distinguished Service Award and professor emerita status by Trustee Raymond Ciccone during the ceremony. The award was “in recognition of Dr. Bukowski’s outstanding leadership as a founding member of Stockton’s Physical Therapy program and her enduring commitment to the health care industry,” Ciccone said.
 
This year marks Stockton’s fifth Spring Doctoral and Master’s Commencement ceremony. Stockton currently has 14 graduate degree programs, serving over 800 students. The growing graduate program awarded its first degrees in 1999 with a Master’s in Business Studies, and the first doctoral program, in Physical Therapy, was approved in 2006.
 
President Harvey Kesselman noted in his welcoming remarks that he is a member of Stockton’s inaugural class and said, “Throughout our history, Stockton has remained committed to its mission of excellence in teaching, reinforced by support for scholarship and dedication to service.
 
“Although our footprint has changed over the past 47 years, our guarantee to students has been steadfast. Stockton has always been a place where students can plant themselves and grow,” Kesselman continued. “Those familiar with Stockton’s history know this as our first motto, an invitation to intellectual and personal growth, pointing to our rich, natural environment.
 
“Our transformation from a small state college to a growing regional university signifies our deep dedication to providing a distinctive educational experience at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels and reflects Stockton’s evolution into a premier institution of higher learning,” he said.
 
“Candidates, your Stockton education equips you to succeed in your workplaces, personal lives, further education, and in your communities,” Kesselman continued. “Through academic and co-curricular engagement we have nurtured your ability to communicate, collaborate, and to be innovative, all critical skills in the 21st century.”
 
He told the graduates: “We have asked a lot of you over your years at Stockton and you have risen to each level of challenge. I will make one more request today – change your world! Do this by the way you build communities, raise families, support social justice, and educate others and by being kind. You are our best hope for a meaningful future in a world filled with innovation, imagination and optimism.”
 
Dr. Alexander Onopchenko, who has been a practicing general surgeon in Atlantic County since 1989, was the student speaker. He is one of 17 graduates who earned their Master’s of Business Administration in an MBA program tailored to AtlantiCare, a first of its kind here.
 
“As I began my MBA in 2014, people often asked me, ‘Why would a general surgeon with 25 years of experience bother with such an endeavor,’” said Onopchenko. “Certainly, in the middle of each semester, especially in the summer, I repeatedly asked myself the same question. Was I planning a career change? Was I looking for advancement in position? Was I simply crazy to do this at my age? Perhaps the answer was “D,” all of the above......”
 
But he went on to say: “Our world, our professions, our lives become more complex by the minute and constant learning is the answer in order to evolve and not become extinct. This is clearly exemplified by our alma mater as well, since during our two years here, Stockton has evolved from a college to a university and from simply an MBA program in a business school to one accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.”
 
Onopchenko concluded by saying: “If we wish to evolve and not become extinct, we realize that learning must never end. We all look back fondly on our time at Stockton and hope for a future harvest of benefit from our hard work. But today we appreciate being here with all of you and celebrating this moment of the present. Thank you.”
 
Zachary Abbott, who graduated from Stockton in 2013, surprised Nicole Henry with a marriage proposal after she received her M.S. in Communication Disorders degree. Abbott, 27, is a teacher at Pinelands Regional High School, while Henry, 25, is a speech pathologist at Care One in Holmdel, N.J. (She said yes.)
 
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President Susan Davenport presented the candidates to the president for conferral of their degrees and explained the tradition of hooding. “As the graduates come to the stage, they will be hooded, a tradition that dates back to medieval times,” she said. “The hood’s size and color indicates the level of the degree, the institution that conferred the degree, and the field of study in which the degree was granted.”
 
The university awarded a posthumous degree to the family of George Lees of Smithville, who died in April before he could receive his Master of Science in Computational Science degree.
 
“In the words of one classmate, George will be remembered by his friends and classmates at Stockton for the attentiveness he showed others, by his willingness to drop everything and help anyone in need,” said Kesselman.  “His enthusiasm for the challenge of education was contagious. He was persistent in trying to solve the impossible. His passion for knowledge, physics, and astronomy was transparent and motivating.... As we continue on we will forever feel him by our side, pushing us and believing in each one of us with his enthusiastic words ringing in our heads, when he would often say, ‘You got this, you really do.’”
 
Lees’ mother, Karen Coffey, sister Brianna LeFaucheur, son Aidan and fianceé Helene Maxwell, accepted his hood, diploma and program distinction certificate, followed by a moment of silence to honor his memory.
 
The commencement procession was led by Grand Marshal Jennifer Barr, professor of Business Studies, Marketing.
 
Joseph Sramaty, a 2015 alumnus who now works in the Office of Student Affairs, led the singing of the national anthem and the alma mater, “Ospreys on Parade.” The alma mater was written by Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing and 2001 Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry Stephen Dunn. The music was composed by Bud Noble, an adjunct faculty member. The lyrics were adapted by Sramaty and Noble
 
Patti McGill Peterson, presidential advisor for Global Initiatives at the American Council on Education (ACE), will be the keynote speaker at both the 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Baccalaureate ceremonies on Sunday. Peterson oversees work on the internationalization and global engagement of higher education for ACE, the major coordinating association for higher education institutions in the United States.
 
She is also president emerita at Wells College and St. Lawrence University, where she held presidencies from 1980 to 1996.
 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Do not miss a single innovative moment and sign up for our newsletter!
    Weekly updates


    Categories

    All
    3D Printing
    Academia
    Acquisitions
    Aerospace
    Agriculture
    AIDS
    Algae
    Alumni
    Animals
    Architecture
    Astrophysics
    Autism
    Awards
    Big Data
    Bioethics
    Biofuel
    Biomedical
    BioNJ
    Bioterrorism
    Bit Coins
    Brain Health
    Business
    Camden
    Cancer
    CCollege
    Cellular
    Centenary
    Chemistry
    ChooseNJ
    Climate Change
    Clinical Trials
    Cloud Tech
    Collaboration
    Computing
    Congress
    Coriell
    Council On Innovation
    Crowdfunding
    Cybersecurity
    DARPA
    Defense
    Degree
    Dementia
    Dental Health
    DOC
    DOD
    DOE
    Drew
    Drones
    Drug Creation
    Einstein's Alley
    Electricity
    Energy
    Engineering
    Entrepreneurship
    Environmental
    FAA
    Fairleigh Dickinson
    FDA
    Federal Budget
    Federal Government
    Federal Labs
    Federal Program
    Finance
    Food Science
    Fort Monmouth
    Fuel Cells
    Funding
    Genome
    Geography
    Geology
    Global Competition
    Google
    Governor Christie
    Grant
    Hackensack
    HackensackUMC
    Healthcare
    Health Care
    HHS
    HINJ
    Hospitals
    Immigration
    Incubator
    Infrastructure
    International
    Internet
    Investor
    IoT
    IP
    IT
    Jobs
    Johnson & Johnson
    K-12
    Kean
    Kessler
    Legislation
    Logistics
    Manufacturing
    Medical Devices
    Med School
    Mental Health
    Mentor
    Microorganisms
    Molecular Biology
    Montclair
    NAS
    Neuroscience
    Newark
    New Jersey
    NIFA
    NIH
    NIST
    NJBDA
    NJBIA
    NJ Chemistry Council
    NJCU
    NJDOLWD
    NJEDA
    NJEDge
    NJHF
    NJII
    NJIT
    NJMEP
    NJPAC
    NJPRO
    NJTC
    Nonprofit
    NSF
    OpEd
    Open Data
    OSHE
    OSTP
    Parasite
    Patents
    Paterson
    Patients
    Perth Amboy
    Pharma
    POTUS
    PPPL
    Princeton
    Prosthetics
    Ranking
    Rare Disease
    R&D Council
    Report
    Resiliency
    Rider
    Robotics
    Rowan
    Rutgers
    SBA
    Seton Hall
    Siemens
    Smart Car
    Smart Cities
    Software
    Solar
    Space
    SSTI
    Startup
    State Government
    STEM
    Stevens
    Stockton
    Subatomic
    Supports
    Sustainability
    Taxes
    TCNJ
    Teachers
    Telecom
    Therapy
    Thermodynamics
    Transportation
    Undergraduate
    USEDA
    Verizon
    Video Game
    Virtual Reality
    Water
    WHO
    William Paterson
    Women In STEM
    Workforce Development

Home   Coalition   News   Resources   Events   Join Us
Picture
Innovation New Jersey Coalition
10 West Lafayette Street
Trenton, NJ 08608-2002
609-858-9507