Trenton, N.J. – Today, I learned that Kathryn Foster will step down as President of The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) and, after a yearlong sabbatical, join the ranks of faculty at the College.
As Mayor of the City of Trenton, I have enjoyed a close working relationship with President Foster. Not only has she supported efforts to deepen the centuries-long connection between TCNJ and the Capital City, but she is an extraordinarily special individual. When one pairs her exceptional subject matter expertise/professional experiences in local and county planning with her academic pedigree, it is no surprise why the Board of Trustees selected her to serve in her current role nearly five years ago: I welcomed the Board’s decision enthusiastically.
As someone who taught undergraduate courses at TCNJ for more than a decade, President Foster’s passion for teaching is remarkable. As President of the University of Maine at Farmington, she wrote a wonderful essay on teaching, aspirational for other college administrators, and filled with views that all teachers can share. In the essay, she writes, “Teaching was the hardest, most daunting, demanding, and taxing job I’d ever had. It was also the greatest, most rewarding, consequential, and noble thing I’d ever done.” If every college administrator shared these sentiments, college campuses would be much better off.
I am proud to have worked with President Foster and TCNJ to forge an innovative partnership with the Trenton Board of Education for Early College High School Program to expand educational opportunity for students in the Trenton Public Schools; the articulation agreement that she recently fostered with Mercer County Community College will promote educational opportunity even further.
I look forward to working with the next President of The College of New Jersey to continue strengthening the College’s relationship with the Capital City and I have wished President Foster my best as she embarks on her sabbatical and joins the faculty at TCNJ.