Groundbreaking Nutley Educator Keeps Racking Up Honors

NUTLEY, NJ — One of Nutley’s finest math minds continues to rack up the honors.

Nutley resident Eileen Louise Poiani is well known for being the first female mathematics instructor at Saint Peter's University, a milestone she reached in 1967 – one year after the university started admitting women.

After a lengthy teaching career and serving as assistant to four previous Saint Peter’s presidents, Poiani marked another milestone when she became the university's first female vice president.

But Poiani, who currently works as special assistant to the president/professor of mathematics and chair of the Sustainability Council at Saint Peter's University, isn’t done notching career highlights yet.

According to Saint Peter's University, during the fall 2021 semester, she was presented with the New Jersey State Governor's Jefferson Award for volunteerism in the Lifetime Service Category. She also received the Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education Humanitarian Award from the American Conference on Diversity. Additionally, she was appointed to the Advisory Council of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and was reappointed to the Enforcement Resources Committee of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).

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