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Contact: Marketing & Communications, editor@mail.montclair.edu, (973) 655-4333

MONTCLAIR, N. J. -- Following a national search, Phillip J. Cardillo of Green Village, N.J., has joined Montclair State (www.montclair.edu) as Director of The Conference Center at Montclair State University. Cardillo joins the University from the American Museum of Natural History in New York where he was Senior Operations Manager.

He will oversee operations of the region's newest and most sophisticated conference center, located on the seventh floor of University Hall -- the largest building in University history -- which will open this month. I am delighted and honored to be a member of the MSU family and excited to present the unique capabilities of this state-of-the-art conference and event facility to the tri-state region," Cardillo said. "Our goal is to make the Conference Center at Montclair State University a world-class venue that both enhances the educational mission of MSU and provides a much needed resource to companies and individuals who seek a first class location for events, conferences and celebrations."

Cardillo, who started his new position in November, "brings a unique blend of university event and conference facility management, budgeting, and planning experience and knowledge to this important position," said Donald D. Cipullo, vice president for Finance and Treasurer at MSU.  "In addition to his most recent experiences as Senior Operations Manager at the American Museum of Natural History, Phil has almost 15 years of conference management experience in a university setting."

In addition to the Conference Center's panoramic view of Manhattan and surrounding vicinity, the facility has ballroom capacity for groups of up to 500 people, movable walls that can be quickly reconfigured into smaller meeting spaces, the latest in communications technology, a private dining area for groups of 22 or less and a full-service kitchen.

The Conference Center is only one of several unique features of University Hall, the biggest and most sophisticated building in University history and new home of Montclair State's nationally renowned College of Education and Human Services. Designed in MSU's Spanish Mission style, University Hall features an interior courtyard and 120-foot bell tower with four stories on one side and seven on the other, houses six 100-seat lecture halls, one 200-seat lecture hall, 41 general classrooms, more than 20 specialized learning labs, more than 150 faculty and staff offices, and several student study lounges.

In addition to the Conference Center and College of Education and Human Services, University Hall is the new home for the ADP Center for Teacher Preparation and Learning Technologies, the Center for Pedagogy, the Literacy Enrichment Center, the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children and the Office of Information Technology.

As Senior Operations Manager at the American Museum of Natural History, Cardillo, who has a B.A. degree in Political Science from Rutgers University, directed and managed all operational functions including the Visitor Services Department, the Theatre, Planetarium, crowd management and admissions.  He also coordinated recruiting, staffing and training for more than 150 employees; developed and implemented point of sale, customer service and operations training manuals; created and implemented an Ambassador Customer Service training program for all 500 front-line Museum staff; and formulated, executed and managed the personnel and public admission operations budget for the department.

Prior to that, he was Director of Facility and Conference Operations at Fairleigh Dickinson University from 1995 to 2001; Assistant Athletic Director-Operations for Seton Hall University from 1988 to 1995; and Operations Coordinator (Patron Services) for PNC Bank Arts Center (Amphitheatre) from 1981 to 1988.

For additional information on The Conference Center, or to make a reservation, contact Cardillo at (973) 655-6798 or email him at cardillop@mail.montclair.edu.

Montclair State is New Jersey's second largest and fastest growing university. It offers the advantages of a large university -- a comprehensive undergraduate curriculum with a global focus, a broad variety of superior graduate programs through the doctoral level, and a diverse faculty and student body --combined with a small college's attention to students. More information on the University is available on its Web site at www.montclair.edu.

MSU is located at the intersection of Valley Road and Normal Avenue in Montclair. The campus is one mile south of the junction of routes 3 and 46, 14 miles west of New York City.

December 8, 2005