{"id":1916,"date":"2025-07-17T14:29:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T18:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/?p=1916"},"modified":"2025-07-17T14:30:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T18:30:16","slug":"lanigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/2025\/07\/17\/lanigan\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving Students a Brighter Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a heartfelt tribute on July 9 as students, staff, faculty, family and friends gathered in the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Office in Cole Hall Suite 301 to honor Montclair resident Julia Lanigan for her generous investment benefiting Montclair students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Langian, along with her son, Tom, got their first look at a commemorative plaque that now adorns the EOF Office wall, recognizing Lanigan\u2019s legacy gift commitment to support the University\u2019s <\/span>Future College Graduate Academy<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The recognition event included a reception in the Alexander Kasser Theater lobby, where many students involved in the EOF Summer Academy joined to personally meet and celebrate Lanigan.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the intention of supporting the priorities of the University\u2019s Future College Graduate Academy, Lanigan established the Julia Bartko Lanigan Fund and named the Montclair State University Foundation as a <\/span>beneficiary<\/span><\/a> of her trust to create the Julia Bartko Lanigan Endowed Fund. Her generosity will create life-changing opportunities for highly motivated, low-income scholars for generations to come.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy own experience has given me a great appreciation for the importance of access and <\/span>excellence in higher education, and how this opportunity, combined with hard work, provides a <\/span>pathway to achieve success in America,\u201d Lanigan stated in setting up the gift, a quote that appears on the plaque.<\/span><\/p>\n

At 17, Lanigan fled with her family to the United States as a refugee from her birthplace of Hungary, finding work and settling in Passaic, New Jersey. She studied chemistry and worked as a chemist for American Cyanamid for more than 26 years. She later joined her husband at Humana Press, the scientific publishing company they co-founded, and worked there 15 years, selling the company after his death.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJulia\u2019s impact on our scholars has been immeasurable, so we have this plaque nestled near the entrance of where scholars\u2019 lives are transformed,\u201d said Associate Provost for Educational Opportunity and Success Programs Daniel Jean in welcoming attendees.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMontclair is your second home,\u201d Jean added, expressing a theme which resonated throughout the day.<\/span><\/p>\n

From left, Julia Lanigan with Montclair State University President Jonathan Koppell, Associate Provost for Educational Opportunity and Success Programs Daniel Jean, and Senior Director of EOF and Success Programs Rahjaun Gordon (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis space is where the EOF and Future College Graduate Academy programs create a home for students, many of whom took a risk by coming to college and doing something that nobody in their family had done before\u2026 and in that respect there\u2019s a strong connection between the journey our students are on and the journey that you took as an immigrant,\u201d Koppell pointed out in thanking Lanigan.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe investment you are making ensures that we are able to honor the spirit that our students bring to Montclair,\u201d Koppell said. \u201cYou are empowering students to fulfill their potential.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ensuring that students can transform their lives through education is a priority for Lanigan. \u201cI hope that my generosity helps your success,\u201d she said to the students gathered.<\/span><\/p>\n

From left, Julia Lanigan with Josephine Leonard \u201925 and junior Ma\u2019kayla James, students who credit Montclair\u2019s EOF program for their personal and professional achievement (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe Montclair EOF program has tremendously impacted my journey educationally in ways I never imagined,\u201d said Josephine Leonard \u201925, a first generation graduate now enrolled in the University\u2019s master\u2019s in Higher Education program. \u201cIt didn\u2019t just provide financial support, but gave me a community of mentors, advisors and peers who believe in me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEOF has helped me gain confidence and skills and taught me that my background is a strength and not a limitation,\u201d Leonard said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Junior Sociology major Ma\u2019kayla James told guests, \u201cI experience daily how this program is changing my life\u2026 my EOF family does not just want me to graduate, they also are preparing me to excel beyond college and break barriers in my family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Students engage with Julia Lanigan at the reception celebrating her gift and its impact
(Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Surrounded by a room full of gratitude, Lanigan was visibly moved and shared: \u201cThis school feels like my home, and I\u2019m grateful that I can support the University. I feel very much loved here.\u201d<\/span>

View photos of the event <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

University recognizes Montclair resident and philanthropist Julia Lanigan for her generous gift commitment to benefit students through the Future College Graduate Academy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":451,"featured_media":1917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montclair-state-university-donors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/451"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1916"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1921,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1916\/revisions\/1921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}