President Susan A. Cole was honored as "Educator of the Year" by the Research & Development Council of New Jersey at the 25th annual Thomas Alva Edison Patent Awards Dinner at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City last month.

Cole received the award for her outstanding achievement in furthering the advancement of research and development through education. The Research and Development Council recognized the growth in students, facilities, faculty and programs that has occurred at Montclair State under Cole's leadership, and also noted the University's plans to open the Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning.

In accepting the award, Cole noted to the assembled scientists and representatives from business "that we are celebrating the creation and uses of knowledge in a state that has not adequately accepted responsibility for the higher education of its people.

"If I deserve any credit in this at all, it is only that I saw with clarity both the need and the potential," said Cole accepting the award on behalf of Montclair State's 16,000 students. "These are ambitious and talented, highly diverse and determined young men and women--half of them the first in their families to attend college--who are ready to work hard, to pull themselves up into a life of accomplishment and contribution to society."

Robert Schaffhauser, chair of the Research and Development Council, said Cole joins an elite group of other outstanding educators "whose tireless commitment to higher education continues to help shape the future of the state and nation."

Also honored at the awards dinner was Ralph Izzo, president and COO of PSE&G, who received the Science and Technology Medal for his extraordinary management in bringing innovation to the marketplace, and New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt, who received the "Chairman's Award" for his work in uniting industry, academia and the state in the pursuit of creating a research-based environment in New Jersey for the 21st century.

The Thomas Alva Edison Patent Awards were presented for the most important scientific breakthroughs and product innovations originating in New Jersey. This year's winners are Celgene Corporation (Warren), Engelhard Corporation (Iselin), ExxonMobil Research and Engineering (Annandale), International Specialty Products (Wayne), Merck & Co., Inc. (Rahway), Princeton University (Princeton), Rutgers University (New Brunswick), Sabinsa Corporation (Piscataway), Schering Plough Research Institute (Kenilworth) and Wyeth (Princeton).

The Research and Development Council is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating an environment that supports the advancement of research and development.