{"id":210958,"date":"2025-05-20T10:54:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T14:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/?p=210958"},"modified":"2025-05-20T10:54:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T14:54:18","slug":"montclair-professor-among-31-students-who-received-mentors-final-gift-her-life-savings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/2025\/05\/20\/montclair-professor-among-31-students-who-received-mentors-final-gift-her-life-savings\/","title":{"rendered":"Montclair Professor Among 31 Students Who Received Mentor\u2019s Final Gift: Her Life Savings"},"content":{"rendered":"

When\u00a0The New York Times<\/em><\/a>\u00a0ran a story about a beloved art history professor from New College of Florida who bequeathed her life savings to 31 former students, it struck a national chord. For Montclair State University\u2019s Nicole Archer, the tribute felt deeply personal.<\/p>\n

Archer was one of those 31 students. She remembers the moment she learned about the gift from her former professor, Cris Hassold.\u00a0She assumed it would be something small \u2013 maybe enough for a dinner or a keepsake. But the $100,000 she received changed her life. \u201cI literally opened my first savings account with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Archer adds:<\/p>\n

The true inheritance isn\u2019t about money \u2013 it was about the way Cris taught me to look at the world. The real gift was the way she encouraged me to think deeply, challenge assumptions, and approach art and history with openness and curiosity. It\u2019s something I try to pass on to my students here at Montclair.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now the incoming chair of the\u00a0Department of Art and Design<\/a>, Archer reflects on how much of her path has been shaped by Hassold\u2019s influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t start with a clear plan. I was 18, unsure, and not convinced college was for me,\u201d she says. \u201cBut meeting Cris changed everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Archer joined Montclair in 2018 to teach\u00a0Visual and Critical Studies<\/a>. She was drawn to the University because so many of its students reminded her of herself \u2013 driven, curious and navigating the financial and personal challenges that can make higher education feel out of reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI come from a family with a lot of heart and a lot of love \u2013 but not a lot of financial means,\u201d she says. At her father\u2019s urging, she applied to New College in Sarasota \u2013 and got in with a full scholarship.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudying art helped me see value that wasn\u2019t economic. I learned to see cultural value \u2013 and to understand that culture has the power to shape identity and meaning,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a lesson she now shares with her Montclair students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can do anything for my students, it\u2019s to help them recognize the value of culture \u2013 the cultures they come from, the ones they maintain and embody.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds,\u00a0\u201cI love those moments when a student sees something in class and says, \u2018Wait! This is what I grew up with \u2014 I didn\u2019t know it was valuable.\u2019 And I get to say, \u2018It is, but this is because you and your community make it meaningful. It\u2019s valuable because\u00a0you\u2019re<\/em>\u00a0valuable.\u2019 That\u2019s what Cris did for me. And that\u2019s what I try to do for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, Archer has received emails from former students about works of art they recently saw and recognized from her class. \u201cIn those moments, I feel their world expanding. It gives me chills. That\u2019s the dream \u2013 not teaching students what to think, but how to think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrying the Legacy Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Nicole
Nicole Archer, incoming chair of the Department of Art and Design, says her path was shaped by her mentor\u2019s influence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Archer is currently completing research for a new book on the role of textiles in shaping cultures of violence. She\u2019s also curating a 2026 exhibition marking the 250th anniversary of the United States, using the American flag to explore themes of political participation, empowerment and community.<\/p>\n

One of her most treasured possessions is a photograph from her college graduation in 1999. \u201cCris was camera shy,\u201d Archer says. \u201cShe only let us take a photo with her on graduation day. That picture has followed me everywhere \u2013 London, California. It\u2019s always been with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she looks at it now, she sees more than a moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see the beginning of everything \u2013 grad school, teaching, publishing, mentoring. Every time I help a student take that next step, it feels like I\u2019m honoring Cris\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story by\u00a0Marilyn Joyce Lehren<\/a>,\u00a0University Communications and Marketing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nicole Archer reflects on the lasting influence of her professor who left her life savings to former students \u2013 including Archer \u2013 and shaped her teaching, research and passion for opening minds and critical thinking<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":210959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-announcements","category-210_art-design-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210960,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210958\/revisions\/210960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}