College and School Happenings

Maxwell Becton College of Arts and Sciences 

Spring on Stage 

The School of the Arts is staging a variety of productions this spring: 

“Single Black Female,” a two-woman show by renowned playwright Lisa B. Thomas, will run from Thursday, February 24, through Sunday, February 27, at the Barn Theater on the Florham Campus. It will be directed by Marshall Jones III, well-known producer/director; head of BA theater, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.; and director, Rutgers Community Arts Summer Acting Conservatory.

Performance times are Thu.–Sat., 7:30 p.m.; and Sun., 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $15 for the general public, $10 for senior citizens 65+ and $5 for members of the FDU community and students. Seating is limited and reservation is necessary at fdubarntix@gmail.com.  

Audience members must wear face masks indoors while attending the performance.

Other upcoming productions this semester include “Beauty and the Beast,” April 1–3 and April 7–10, and “Children’s Hour,” April 29–May 1. For information email fdubarntix@gmail.com or go to FDU Theater Season. 

Celebrating Black History

Maxwell Becton College of Arts and Sciences, in partnership with the FDU libraries, is sponsoring a variety of virtual events in celebration of Black History Month in February, focusing on Richard Wright, the noted 20th-century African-American author of such classics as Native Son, Black Boy and Uncle Tom’s Children.

The events included screenings of “Richard Wright: Black Boy,” which revolved around his life, work and legacy; and “Native Son,” a modern reimagining of Wright’s classic about a young man’s disastrous attempt to navigate through racism, individuality and class differences.

Remaining events include “Sundance Institute: Cinema Café” on Wednesday, February 16, from 7–8:30 p.m., featuring up-and-coming African-American actors Ashton Sanders and KiKi Layne, who both appear in the 2019 film “Native Son.” They will also discuss their roles in “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Moonlight,” “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Equalizer 2.”

Students in the Contemporary Black Literature class will interpret Wright’s 2020 bestseller The Man Who Lived Underground using a traditional plot-structure analysis on Wednesday, February 23, from 7–8:30 p.m. This discussion will be complemented by the month’s final event, an interview with Julia and Malcolm Wright, daughter and grandson of Richard Wright, on Monday, February 28, from 7–8:30 p.m., about publishing the full version of The Man Who Lived Underground after 80 years of being censored. It was a previously unpublished novel by Richard Wright about race, police violence and more.

Registration is necessary. Michael Cotto, literature (Metro), helped organize the events.

For a Black History Month event sponsored by the libraries, see Randall Westbrook, education (Flor), in this issue’s “Faculty, Staff — Update, In Memoriam, Welcome.”

Writing Workshops

The Metro Writing Studio is holding free writing workshops via Zoom this semester.

Upcoming workshops to be led by faculty/staff members (all Metro) will include: “What is Critical Writing?” with Danielle DesFosses, Becton College, on Wednesday, February 23, 4–5:30 p.m.; “Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism,” with Yelena Shekhtman, tutor, Metro Writing Studio, on Friday, February 25, 1–2 p.m.; “Basic Grammar,” with Rochelle Moskowitz, tutor, Metro Writing Studio, on Monday, February 28, 10–11:30 a.m., and on  Monday, March 21, 10–11 a.m.; “Introduction to APA Format,” with Danielle DesFosses on Monday, February 28, 3:30–5 p.m., and on Tuesday, March 22, 2–3:30 p.m.; “Common Essay Patterns,” with Helen Kuttner, tutor, Metro Writing Studio, on Wednesday, March 2, 3–4:30 p.m.; “Undergraduate Academic Essay and Research,” with Paul Caruso, tutor, Metro Writing Studio, on Monday, March 7, 5:30–7 p.m.; “Advanced APA Format,” with Helen Kuttner on Wednesday, March 9, and on Wednesday, March 23, both from 1:30–3 p.m.; “Academic Writing and the Annotated Bibliography,” with Paul Caruso on Thursday, March 24, 7–8:30 p.m.; “Technical and Scientific Writing,” with Helen Kuttner on Wednesday, March 30, 3–4:30 p.m.; and “Creating the Works Cited List,” with Yelena Shekhtman on Monday, April 4, 1–2:30 p.m.

Registration is required 10 minutes prior to the workshops. For the Zoom meeting IDs and passwords, to register and for information go to Metro Writing Studio. Julia Wagner, academic writing (Metro), is director of the Metro Writing Studio.

Silberman College of Business 

Veterans Launching Ventures Receives Support 

Veterans Launching Ventures (VLV), a certificate course for veterans and their families, is among the veterans programs in New Jersey that received financial support from the NJBankers Foundation. According to John McWeeney, CEO of the foundation, “our ongoing support of these valuable programs allows us to recognize those men and women who have volunteered to protect our country in the armed forces.”

VLV is offered through the Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Sessions are offered in the spring and fall. Due to high demand, both sessions in 2022 are no longer open for registration.

Rothman Friday Forum

The Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is hosting Rothman Friday Forums at noon this February. The free virtual webinars are cosponsored by Provident Bank, TD Bank, the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey and the Rothman Institute.

On February 18, “From Athlete to Entrepreneur — A Conversation with Kevin Johnson,” will feature Kevin Johnson, CEO, K. Johnson Enterprises, Bordentown, N.J. A retired NFL wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, he also is CEO of Team85 Fitness and Wellness.

On February 25, Connie Whitman, CEO, Whitman & Associates, LLC, in Middletown Township, N.J., will talk about “Eliminate the 5 Layers of Buyers’ Resistance: Make More Sales Without Being Pushy, Icky or Manipulative.”

Registration is necessary. For inquiries contact Susan Slavin, programs director, Rothman Institute (Flor), at srslavin@fdu.edu or rothman@fdu.edu. To watch previous webinars go to the Rothman Institute YouTube channel.

Winning Ideas

Pitch NJ, an event/competition for high-school entrepreneurs will be holding its finalists’ presentation and awarding ceremony on Monday, March 7, at the Hassan Orangerie, Monninger Center for Learning and Research, at the Florham Campus.

Cosponsored by FDU, the free event will start at 4 p.m. with pizza and networking. The entrepreneur finalists will present their pitches/product demonstrations at 5:45 p.m., with the announcement of winners at 7 p.m. The winner will receive $1,500 in cash and a spot on the Passage to Profit radio show/podcast to pitch his/her winning idea to the listeners.

Registration is necessary to attend the event. To register and for information go to Pitch NJ.

Professional Coach Certification

The Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in partnership with Ignite Business Partners, Marlton, N.J., has launched its Ignite Excellence in Coaching Professional Coach Certification. This transformational coaching and leadership development program includes 135 hours of specific-coach training, exercises, role play, mentor coaching and written work as well as an oral and written exam.  

Classes are done virtually and participants who complete the program receive an Executive Professional and Leadership Coach Certification. For more information about the program and for a schedule of upcoming information sessions go to Coach Certification. 

Upcoming PDP Events

The Professional Development Program (PDP) of the Silberman College of Business is holding a variety of free events — virtual and in-person — for students at the Florham and Metropolitan campuses.

Together with the Office of Alumni Relations and the FDU Alumni Association, the PDP is cohosting two webinars via Zoom:

• “Market Trends: Inflation and the Changing Economic Landscape” will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 16. Featured speakers are Jon Budish, BA’77, MBA’85 (Flor), business faculty (Metro), and founder, Budish Group; Stephen Weiss, BS’77 (Ruth), managing partner/chief investment office, Short Hills Capital Partners LLC, Maplewood, N.J.; and Kevin Mahn, MBA’93 (Flor), president/chief investment officer, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management, Parsippany, N.J.
• “The Supply Shortages: The Good, the Bad and the Unexpected,” will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2. Presenters will include Stephen Bozer, MBA’06 (Metro), senior vice president, human health, Flavine North America, Inc., Paramus, N.J.; member, Silberman College Board of Advisors; and member, School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Board of Advisors; and Wenyi Kuang, supply chain management (Metro).

Other upcoming PDP events are as follows:

The C-Suite Lecture Series, will feature Monica Smith, founder and CEO of Marketsmith, Inc., in Cedar Knolls, N.J., at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, via Zoom. 

A Networking Event with Scott Behson, management (Metro), will be held at the Metropolitan Campus on Tuesday, March 29, at 6 p.m. 

A Healthcare Marketing Discussion with Tracy Blackwell, head of office, Fingerpaint, in Cedar Knolls, N.J., will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, in Hartman Lounge, Hennessy Hall, at the Florham Campus.

For information on the webinars, attendees may email fdualumni@fdu.edu. For the other PDP events, contact Paige Soltano, director of placement and outreach, Silberman College (Metro), at paigesoltano@fdu.edu. 

School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences 

Combined-degree Program Agreement

FDU’s School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Bloomsburg University (BU) finalized an agreement to allow qualified students to earn both an undergraduate degree and a PharmD degree in seven years, saving a full year of time and costs. 

Under the agreement, BU students majoring in chemistry or health sciences will be allowed into the Fast Track to the pharmacy (PharmD) program at FDU following their junior year. BU students will then complete their final year enrolled in pharmacy coursework at FDU’s School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Completion of the PharmD program will take an additional three years.

For more information go to “FDU and Bloomsburg University sign pharmacy agreement.”

School of Public and Global Affairs

Holiday Food Drive

The Third Annual Food Drive cosponsored by the School of Public and Global Affairs, Feeding America and the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ) raised more than $10,500 in December 2021 — providing 31,260 meals to families in need in New Jersey. The virtual drive gave donors the option to donate meals or make financial contributions.

Clark Gettinger, program manager, public/global affairs (Flor), organized the drive for the school.

Wroxton College

Virtual Opera Raises Funds for Wroxton

“Teatime Opera: A Concert Honoring Wroxton College,” a prerecorded 30-minute opera celebrating England’s finest composers, raised more than $2,000 in support of the Wroxton College Now & Forever Fund.

The virtual program was accessible online through February 15. It featured Metropolitan Opera singers Helena Brown, soprano; Danielle Buonaiuto, soprano; and Eric Lindsey, bass; and Jason Wirth, pianist. Alumna Bea Goodwin, BA’13 (Flor), opera librettist and stage director, hosted and curated the event. Each voice the audience heard was recorded in preparation for the Metropolitan Opera 2021–2022 Season after an 18-month shutdown.