The Montclair State University Board of Trustees has named New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver and New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) President and CEO John Schreiber as its May 2018 honorary degree recipients.<\/p>\n
Oliver will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree during the University\u2019s Undergraduate Commencement ceremony to be held on Friday, May 25, at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.<\/p>\n
Schreiber will address the graduates and receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree as part of the University\u2019s Graduate School Commencement ceremony on Tuesday, May 22, at the NJPAC in Newark.<\/p>\n
A Dedicated Public Servant<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSheila Oliver has dedicated herself to public service throughout her career,\u201d says Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole. \u201cA longtime member of the New Jersey General Assembly, she made history when she became only the second woman to serve as its speaker and just the second African-American woman in the nation to lead a legislative house.\u201d<\/p>\n A Newark, New Jersey, native, Oliver earned a Master of Science degree in Community Organization, Planning and Administration from Columbia University after graduating from Lincoln University. She began her career working in the Newark Mayor\u2019s Office of Employment and Training as Director of the Office of Youth Services and Special Projects. She later served as Director of the Essex County Division of Community Action, a federal anti-poverty initiative.<\/p>\n In 2003, Oliver was elected to represent District 34 \u2013 which includes East Orange, Orange, Montclair and Clifton \u2013 in the New Jersey General Assembly and was unanimously elected as its Speaker by Assembly Democrats in 2010. A staunch advocate for social justice and educational opportunity, she chaired the General Assembly\u2019s Human Services Committee and served on its Joint Committee on the Public Schools, its Committee on Public Schools, and its Economic Justice and Equal Employment Opportunity Committee.<\/p>\n After being selected by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy to be his running mate, Oliver was sworn in as New Jersey\u2019s Lieutenant Governor on January 16, 2018.<\/p>\n Now an East Orange resident, Oliver is a long-term supporter of community-based, nonprofit organizations, serving on the boards of groups that include the East Orange General Hospital; the Newark Coalition for Neighborhoods; the East Orange Board of Education; and the Global Women\u2019s Leadership Collaborative of NJ. She also has been an active member of the Women\u2019s Political Caucus of New Jersey and Women in Government.<\/p>\n An Arts Center for Everyone<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cJohn Schreiber is a leading innovator of the arts in New Jersey, someone whose vision and energies have ensured that the New Jersey Performing Arts Center is truly the people\u2019s art center for our state,\u201d says Cole. \u201cHe is also an award-winning producer of stage, television and music programs, documentary films and cause-related events.\u201d<\/p>\n Schreiber became President and CEO of NJPAC in 2011. In 2013 he added the Arts Center\u2019s real estate development portfolio to his responsibilities when he was named President of Theater Square Development Corporation.<\/p>\n Under Schreiber\u2019s stewardship, NJPAC is now the country\u2019s most diverse performing arts center in terms of programming, audience and staff.<\/p>\n Presenting over 500 events a year, the Arts Center also provides best in class arts education programs to more than 80,000 children and families each season. NJPAC is committed to engaging community by convening civic engagement events and serving as a driver of economic development in Newark.<\/p>\n NJPAC\u2019s 23-story, 245-unit One Theater Square residential tower, the first ground up luxury housing built in Newark in 70 years, began leasing this month. The Arts Center is currently master planning mixed use development on an additional 7.1 acres of land on its campus.<\/p>\n An award-winning producer of stage, television and music programs, documentary films and cause-related events, Schreiber launched his career working for jazz impresario George Wein \u2013 ultimately becoming president of Festival Productions, the world\u2019s largest producer of music festivals. His credits include the nationwide KOOL Jazz Festivals, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals, among others.<\/p>\n Before taking the helm at NJPAC, Schreiber was executive vice president of social action and advocacy at Participant Media, where he was part of an executive team that produced such critically acclaimed films as An Inconvenient Truth, Lincoln, The Help<\/em> and Waiting for Superman<\/em>.<\/p>\n Schreiber\u2019s producer credits include the multi-day President\u2019s Summit for America\u2019s Future that kicked off the America\u2019s Promise volunteer initiative; Carnegie Hall\u2019s annual American Popular Song celebration, and gala events at the White House for every President from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama. He created and produced The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center, The New Yorker Festival, the Hard Rock Live television series for VH-1, and the nationwide Grammy Festivals.<\/p>\n The Montclair, New Jersey, resident won a Tony award in 2002 as lead producer of At Liberty<\/em>, Elaine Stritch\u2019s one-woman Broadway show, and a 2004 Emmy Award for executive producing the HBO documentary film based on it.<\/p>\n Schreiber attended Haverford College, and serves on the boards of the Newark Alliance, the Newark Trust for Education, Rutgers-Newark and First Book, a national children\u2019s literacy nonprofit.<\/p>\n “Montclair State University sets a standard of excellence across so many subject areas it’s impossible to enumerate them all,\u201d says Schreiber. \u201cIt’s one of the great honors of my life that MSU has chosen me for an honorary doctorate. Finally, I’ll be able to get a good table at any restaurant I want!”<\/p>\n Montclair State\u2019s Graduate School Commencement ceremony will begin at 7p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at NJPAC. The University\u2019s Undergraduate Commencement ceremony will take place at Prudential Center beginning at 11a.m. on Friday, May 25, 2018. For more information about either of these events, visit https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/commencement\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n