In The Know – Issue 162

Montclair Named Top 30 Public Institution in The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2026 Best Colleges Rankings

For the first time, the University has been named among the Top 30 public institutions in the nation. It is also the No. 1 public institution in New Jersey, and its overall ranking has risen to No. 67 out of 584 colleges and universities.

Strengthening Global Ties Through New Partnerships in India

Montclair has formalized a partnership with the Association of Indian Universities, a national network representing more than 1,100 Indian institutions.

Relive Homecoming 2025

Check out photos from the University’s signature fall event!

HR Updates

Benefits Open Enrollment
The New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits (NJDPB) has designated Wednesday, October 1, – Friday, October 31, as Open Enrollment. Open Enrollment is your yearly opportunity to review benefits and make changes for the next calendar year. All changes made during the open enrollment period will be effective on January 1, 2026. Log into the Benefitsolver website by accessing a link on MyNewJersey portal or via mynjbenefitshub.nj.gov.

Enrollment

• No action is required if you do not wish to change or modify your medical or dental plans.
• Action is required to enroll and re-enroll in Flexible Spending Accounts.

Flexible Spending Accounts

• If you would like to participate in the Tax$ave Medical and/or Dependent Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) in 2026, you must enroll in the FSA plan(s) during Open Enrollment.
• Enrollment in the Tax$ave FSAs do not renew automatically from plan year to plan year. You must re-enroll every year.
• Enroll directly with Horizon online by visiting, HorizonBlue.com/enrollfsa or call 1-866-999-3531.

Updates

New Building Entry Access Policy
Beginning October 18, academic and administrative buildings will lock at 8 p.m. on weekdays and at 6 p.m on weekends. Cole Hall will follow a different schedule, locking at 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

• Faculty and staff will continue to have 24/7 ID card access.
• Students may badge in until 11 p.m.
• Access resumes at 7 a.m. each day.

Please carry your University ID with you at all times. If you need a replacement or do not have an ID card, please visit the ID Card Office before Fall Break. This policy follows best practices for University security while ensuring access for teaching, research, and learning. For more information, visit the Access Control webpage.

WMSC Celebrates World College Radio Day
90.3 WMSC-FM will join hundreds of stations worldwide for the 15th Annual World College Radio Day today, Oct. 3. This year’s theme, “Tune Into the People,” focuses on elevating everyday voices and stories. Keep an eye out for WMSC’s World College Radio Day Golf Cart Karaoke, giving rides around campus and the opportunity to win prizes if you sing with the WMSC crew.Tune in on 90.3 FM, the iHeartRadio app, or wmscradio.com.

Thank You to our Red Hawk Community
University Communications and Marketing would like to thank those who participated in our “Where You Are” campaign on campus last week! Whether you stopped by to say hi, took a photo in the red chair, or encouraged students to participate, it did not go unnoticed. View the photo gallery and see how we take #MontclairAnywhere!

Reminders

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month helps raise awareness about online safety and provides tips to protect yourself and our campus community. Montclair’s Information Security Team, Phish Files, publishes new articles weekly on cyber threats and online safety. Follow Montclair IT on Instagram to get real-time scam alerts, outage updates and tech tips. Be sure to complete your annual cyber/information security awareness training to learn how to avoid common cyber threats and keep your personal information safe.

Refer a Student to RADical Health! – Session 2 Begins October 27
RADical Health x Montclair is a dynamic 4-week program designed to support students’ well-being, foster peer connections and build valuable skills for health and resilience. Your referral can make a positive difference in a student’s experience, helping them thrive both personally and academically.

Review the University’s Romantic Relationships Policy
Employees should review the University’s Consensual Romantic, Amorous, or Sexual Relationship Policy to ensure compliance with the Policy’s reporting obligations. Failure to submit a disclosure form as required will be considered a violation of University Policy.

Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines
Submit to an academic refereed journal hosted at Montclair. This special topics issue is titled “AI, Education, and Critical Thinking: Dispatches from the College Classroom,” and it is guest edited by Dr. Ashwin Vaidya, Department of Mathematics, Montclair State University, and Dr. Marguerite K. Mayhall, Department of Fine Arts, Kean University.

In The News

• Jason Williams (Justice Studies) is quoted in this New Jersey Monitor article about where New Jersey’s gubernatorial candidates stand on police transparency.
• Cortni Borgerson (Anthropology) is featured in an article for Mongabay, an nonprofit publication reporting on nature and planetary challenges. The article discusses the lucrative urban market for lemur meat in cities across Madagascar.

Kudos

• To Criswell Lappin (Art and Design), whose article “How Game Design is Fostering Connection Between Nurses and Mothers-To-Be” was featured by Common Edge.
• To Milton Fuentes (Psychology), who has been selected to receive the Alberto Figueroa-Garcia Distinguished Contributions to Organizational Leadership Award by the National Latinx Psychological Association.
• To Minji Lee (Religion), who published an open-access monograph examining twelfth-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen’s conceptualization of the womb.
• To Shelley Watkins-Taylor (Writing Studies), who has received a grant from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) to attend the Creating Healthy Communities Convening Conference which will explore the pursuit of arts, writing and mental health.

Social Media Post of Note

This place was PACKED for #RedHawkHomecoming ⚪️

Photo of the Week

Campus Views at Night – University Photographer: John LaRosa

Quick Links

Have an item you’d like included in Kudos or Reminders? Want to nominate a staffer for our spotlight? Use this form to tell us. Read more about our people and programs in the University News Center and in back issues of In the Know. And find out what’s happening on campus in the Events Calendar.