Photo of the graduating class of 2014 at Commencement in the Izod Center.

Commencement 2014

Photo of James Patterson addressing the graduating class of 2014 at Commencement.

Author James B. Patterson, above, addressed Montclair State University’s largest graduating class at Commencement on May 23, 2014.

Montclair State conferred 4,382 degrees on the largest graduating class in its 106-year history at Commencement on May 23. The Class of 2014 included 3,210 undergraduate and 1,172 graduate students.

James B. Patterson, the award-winning author of more than 100 books who has sold 270 million copies of his books worldwide, delivered the Commencement address and spoke of the impact stories have on people’s lives. “I’m talking about the power of stories that help us understand the world better than we do.”

Families and students cheered and reveled in the day that represented the culmination of years of hard work for the University’s newest alumni. The day of celebration included the return of members of the Class of 1964 for their 50th reunion.