Montclair State Gets Christie Approval As ‘Public Research University’

MONTCLAIR, NJ — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation on Friday designating Montclair State University as a public research university.

Already classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as a “research doctoral institution,” and classified by the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education as a “doctoral degree-granting institution,” the latest hat tip to MSU formally recognizes “the very substantial transformation” that has occurred in recent years at New Jersey’s second largest university, school administrators stated.

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MSU administrators said that the school receives federal funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Departments of Energy, Defense, Agriculture and Education and NASA, as well as from multiple “corporations and foundations.”

Montclair State is also “actively engaged in research collaborations” with other universities across the country and grants about 5,200 degrees each year, administrators said.

“The university greatly appreciates the strong bipartisan support for this legislation in both the New Jersey Senate and the Assembly, the support of the legislative leadership in both houses, and the support of the governor,” Montclair State University President Susan Cole said.

“Having our home state officially recognize what has already been acknowledged in the national higher education community is both welcome and appropriate and will further strengthen the university’s ability to contribute to the education of the state’s workforce, to create new knowledge in fields important to the state, the nation and the larger world, and to help fuel New Jersey’s future economic growth," Cole stated.

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Photo: Montclair State University