Q & A
Getting to Know
the New Deans
Greg Cant and Rob Friedman
share their visions for the future
In July, Montclair State welcomed two new academic deans to campus: A. Gregory Cant, dean of the Feliciano School of Business, and Robert S. Friedman, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Friedman was a founding faculty member of the New Jersey Institute of Technology Information Technology program before serving as the director of the Institute of Technology at the University of Washington’s Tacomacampus. Australian native Cant joins Montclair State from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he was founding dean of the Offutt School of Business and the Robert J. Johnson Chair in Economics and Business Administration.
Both recently talked with Montclair magazine about what attracted them to the University and what they hope the future holds for their respective schools.
Greg Cant Feliciano School of Business
Q: You grew up in Australia and have worked all over the world, most recently in Minnesota. How do you like New Jersey so far?
A: My family and I were very attracted to living in the Northeast, and while we haven’t been here long, it has exceeded our expectations. We’ve already attended two concerts in local parks, eaten at fantastic restaurants, watched the fireworks at the Yogi Berra Stadium and been to a Yankees game.
“We will leverage the immense advantages derived from our diverse community.”
– Greg Cant
Q: What most appealed to you about Montclair State?
A: In one word, opportunity. The University has great people and resources. Its new buildings – such as our facility – are world class, the leadership team is committed to access and excellence and we have a fantastic student body.
Q: This is a time of tremendous growth and opportunity for the Feliciano School of Business. What areas would you most like to develop?
A: I’d like to explore discipline areas in which growth will correspond to fundamental changes in the broader business environment, such as the role of “big data” in decision making, the growing importance of cyber security and the need for companies to work with customers and employees from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
I’ll invite the faculty to explore with me the demand for programs in health care leadership. Health care is not only an important regional industry, but is also, of course, the nation’s largest industry.
We’ll also have some fantastic new opportunities for our graduate programs, including a fully online MBA.
Q: What do you like best about the new building?
A: It’s all amazing, from small details like the quality timberwork and fully integrated technology to the inherent beauty and functionality of the design. I love the student collaboration rooms, the abundant social spaces, flexible classrooms, everything in the Feliciano Center, the finance lab. I could go on and on!
Q: What do you think the Feliciano School of Business will be like in 2020?
A: We will still love this new building. We will have a range of quality online and hybrid options. We will have much deeper connections to the regional business community. We will have benefited from the philanthropic support of our current friends and from many new supporters. There will be over 3,000 students in the School – and my hair will be grayer.
Q: If you could go on a vacation tomorrow, where would you go?
A: I’ve been fortunate to have lived and traveled in many parts of the world. As a family, we’re planning trips to Africa and Central America over the next year or two. However, we’re most excited about traveling in this region, whether down the Shore – this is my attempt to sound like I’m from Jersey – or the city.
Q: What books are on your nightstand?
A: I love history and learning about other communities, so currently Evan Osnos’ Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China and The Water Diviner by Andrew Anastasios and Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios are on my nightstand.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: Currently, I’m having great fun exploring New Jersey with the family. I also like to swim as often as I can and hike whenever possible.
Q: What are you most looking forward to accomplishing as dean?
A: There are obviously lots of tangible goals and benchmarks I want to achieve during my tenure, but I do have a few key aspirations. As a faculty and staff, we need to continually foster a mission-focused culture shaped by our values to ensure we live up to our potential.
We will leverage the immense advantages derived from our diverse community. For example, our many international faculty members can help us develop deep connections across the globe.
While we enjoy some important connections to the business community, we aim to strengthen existing ties and forge new relationships across the state and the region.
Rob Friedman College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Q: Why Montclair State?
A: It has always been considered a top comprehensive public university in New Jersey, and each year its stature continues to grow. An offer from Montclair State University was one I could not refuse.
Q: What is it like to be back in New Jersey?
A: Coming home is always satisfying.
Q: Your background blends humanities (American Literature) and technology (IT). How will you apply your background to your role as dean?
A: I’ll use it as the basis for working with faculty to develop other interdisciplinary and relevant programs for students who’ll be entering a work/life world that demands knowledge and sensibilities from multiple perspectives.
Q: What is the greatest challenge facing the College today?
A: Balancing the interests of and garnering the resources for hundreds of faculty and staff and thousands of students, in ways that provide, if not what everyone wants, at least what everyone needs.
“What ultimately matters and provides fulfillment are truth and beauty, and that’s the purview of the humanities in a nutshell.”
– Rob Friedman
Q: What are the College’s greatest strengths?
A: Its people: students, staff, faculty and alumni.
Q: What three things do you most hope to accomplish as dean?
A: Only three? First, increase the number of full-time faculty who enthusiastically bring their scholarship and research into the classroom. Second, establish a stronger and more effective web presence, bringing the accomplishments of all of the College’s constituents to the awareness of the communities we serve. Third, develop a robust and effective set of student services aimed at increasing retention and decreasing time to degree. A couple of new doctoral programs and intercollegiate research centers would be nice, too.
Q: Why do the humanities continue to matter?
A: Because in this life, what ultimately matters and provides fulfillment are truth and beauty, and that’s the purview of the humanities in a nutshell. Understanding what they consist of comes through philosophical debate, historical inquiry and culturally vibrant expressions of literature and the arts. The humanities provide each of us with the fundamentals needed for personal insight and communal joy. Let’s not forget, though, that the social sciences provide in other ways wonderful inroads to similar ends, and they certainly matter, too.
Q: What do you think the future holds for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences?
A: Reaffirmation of its centrality to the University, new multidisciplinary programs at the undergraduate and master’s levels and the addition of even more world-class faculty and dedicated staff than exists today.
Q: Will you teach at all? If so, what will you teach?
A: Yes, but not right away. When I do, I’ll focus on courses involving literature, the environment and technology.
Q: You have an impressive research portfolio. Are you engaged in any active research projects?
A: Thank you, and yes. There are two. The first is a book on the role of the metaphor of measurement in 19th-century American thought and culture. The second is using information technologies to reform how new knowledge is generated and distributed.
Q: Is there a “Great American Novel”?
A: There are many. My focus has been on the American 19th century, and so I’d point to Moby Dick as the standout for more reasons than this Q&A will allow.
Q: What is the last novel you read?
A: The Cold Song by Linn Ullmann, but the last one to rock me was David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. These days, my tastes in pleasure reading tend toward non-fiction. I think Ben Kafka’s The Demon of Writing is an elegant cultural history of the power of paperwork.
Q: Is there a smartphone app you can’t live without?
A: Password Keeper. Yes, I’m that old.
Q: You have a free day. How will you spend it?
A: On a long walk with my wife and my dog.