By Natalia Tomczak
Opinions Editor
Former President Barbara R. Gitenstein, the 16th and first female president of The College, visited campus on Wednesday, Nov. 19, to speak about her second book and her experiences in academic administration.
Upon her arrival in 1999, Gitenstein enhanced academic rigor and transformed the undergraduate program. The College is ranked fifth in the nation among all public colleges and universities for having the highest four-year graduation rate. Alumni donations nearly doubled during her time as president, and the College received its largest-ever single gift at $5 million.
Under her leadership, the College invested more than $380 million in its physical plan, including six academic buildings, housing for an additional 400 students and the acquisition of 103 acres of property to add to the campus of 289 acres. She also completed a contract for Campus Town, the College’s first public/private partnership with a developer.
She has recently written two memoirs on her leadership journey, the first being “Experience is the Angled Road: Memoir of an Academic,” for which the College hosted a book club in 2022. Her second book is “Portrait of a Presidency: Patterns in My Life as President of The College of New Jersey,” which she spoke about in greater detail during the event.
Writing the Book
She begins each chapter in her second book with an Emily Dickinson poem, someone she said she has always been inspired by. She wrote it, not as a chronological narrative, but with a flow like memory, because those are the kinds of memoirs she enjoys.
Some of the chapters she began writing while the events were happening. Gitenstein said her typical writing process is that she simply starts writing, and then she goes back in to see what to remove.
She keeps many documents and bases a lot of her writing in her new book on news publications. She finds that for that reason, her second book is a lot more objective than her first, which was more personal.
Academics
As Gitenstein was president, she worked to change three credit courses to four credit courses. This meant a revision to every single course, major, minor and concentration. It wasn’t without pushback, but staff cooperation has allowed the College to elevate its courses.
Current President Michael Bernstein prompted a discussion about attacks on higher education, as people question the value of higher education in the current political climate. Gitenstein speaks to this, and how some academics have a sense of romance about academics, but “we haven't listened to some of the legitimate questions asked of us. Why has tuition risen more than inflation? We need to own what we need to change.”
Leadership Through Grief
Gitenstein had to lead through various challenges, as she was president during 9/11. Leading through the grief was unique on a New Jersey campus because of its close proximity to New York City, she said. She speaks to this in greater detail in her memoir.
One of the most challenging times during her presidency at the College was when a student went missing in 2006. It began the destruction of normalcy, she said. Police, helicopters and media were on campus. Rumors and speculations spread, as people questioned the safety on campus.
Gitenstein learned that it was important to help the campus grieve. Euphemisms are not successful, and it is important to be honest with students when something horrible happens. She learned the importance of communication, and she sent daily emails to help mitigate speculation.
After the death of the student in March, who was last seen napping in his room, students were grieving and concerned about safety. The College decided to lock residence halls at all times so that students would feel safe.
She advises, “Tell people what you know and also indicate when you don't know something… Let people know that you're human.”
Lessons and Advice
As someone with a history in academic administration, Gitenstein tells students interested in academia to keep that dream. “It's not easy, but it was never all that easy,” she says, “there are gonna be challenges and things you don't really wanna do. Do it anyway.”
Reflecting on her upbringing and her hometown, she says she is sure people from her hometown Florala, Alabama might not agree with her politically, but she’d guarantee that they’d have more in common than not, and “that’s what higher education is all about.”
She also speaks to the tenacity of students at the College, saying, “There is something about TCNJ students. You don't assume that you're going to have it easy; you assume that things might be challenging. You're humble. And I think that's really important.”
Sophomore and attendee Sophia Watson, who was inspired to attend when hearing about the event through the Women in Learning and Leadership GroupMe, said she found the talk inspirational.
She commented on the symbolic legacy that lives on through the library’s name saying, “The library, being not only a very central part of campus, but the center of knowledge on campus, is a powerful legacy that represents how she left her name on the institution in such a central way.”
