In The Know – Issue 164
Posted in: In the Know
Student Voices: Film and Television Major Lands Television Academy Foundation Internship Program
Senior Raciely Rodriguez reflects on how Montclair prepared her internship at Geiger Post, a leading post-production facility in Hollywood.
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.
Support Center Update
We’re pleased to share the HR Support Center activity summary for the last 90 days. Below are key statistics that highlight how we’ve been assisting the University:
Support Requests Handled
- Total Phone Calls Received: 572
- Peak Call Times: 9:30-10:30am, 3:30-4:30pm
- Average Call Duration: 4.5 minutes
ServiceNow Tickets
- Tickets Opened: 2,350
- Same Day Aging: 82%
- Average Resolution Time: 7.52 hours
- Average Survey Rating (1-5): 4.2
Service Highlights
- Improved resolution time by 12% from July to August
- 84% satisfaction rate based on post-ticket surveys
We remain committed to providing responsive, high-quality support to the entire University. Thank you for your continued feedback and engagement – it helps us improve our services every day. For HR assistance, please continue to reach out to the HR Support Center at askHR@montclair.edu or by phone 973-655-7700.
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.
Digital Printing and Photocopying Services Now a “Punch Out” Catalog
The University is rolling out a faster, easier way for departments to create brochures, event programs, posters, flyers and newsletters that look professional and comply with the University’s brand standard using customizable online templates. One Source Solutions will print the materials and deliver them to campus. Access this service by means of a “punch out” requisition in Workday. View the One Source Solutions Job Aid for detailed instructions. Printed materials that are not available in this system can be requested using UCM’s Digital and Print Design Request Form.
Reminders
Faculty and Staff Commencement Registration and Regalia
Winter Commencement will be held on Tuesday, January 13, 2026 at Prudential Center in Newark. Advanced registration is REQUIRED for all faculty and staff attending Commencement. There are two registration forms depending if you are a staff member working the event or a faculty or staff member participating in the academic processional. Registration will close on Monday, November 17, 2025. Due to event coordination needs, faculty and staff MUST register by this deadline. Late registrations will not be accepted.
Faculty and staff participating in the academic processional must wear regalia. The deadline to order your rental regalia is Friday, November 7, 2025. Orders will not be accepted after the deadline. All orders will be shipped directly to the University Bookstore and MUST be picked up at the Graduation Fairs.For more information visit the Commencement webpage or email officeofspecialevents@montclair.edu.
Fall Pumpkin Painting Contest
Celebrate fall at the Fall Harvest Pumpkin Painting Contest hosted by Human Resources. Immerse yourself in autumn festivities with games, music, and the joy of painted pumpkins. Each division or college is invited to form a team and showcase their creativity. Register your team by Friday, October 17. Judging will take place on Wednesday, November 5 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Student Center Room 160. The Red Hawk Pantry will be accepting donations. Visit the Red Hawk Pantry webpage to view common items needed or donate funds/items via amazon.
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.
In The News
- Jonathan Howell (Linguistics) is quoted in this NorthJersey.com article about the New Jersey “accent.”
- Jason Williams (Justice Studies) is quoted in this NJ Spotlight News article about how the state’s governor’s race will impact mental health response programs.
- Emily Isaacs (Office for Faculty Excellence) is quoted in this CBS New York story about a student at Adelphi University who was accused of artificial intelligence-assisted plagiarism and is now suing the school.
- Joseph Del Russo (Adjunct, Social Work and Child Advocacy) is quoted in this NorthJersey.com article about a high stakes sexual assault lawsuit involving a Delbarton School graduate.
Kudos
- To Jaime Grinberg (Educational Foundations), who served as an analyst on This Is America, discussing the implementation of the agreements initiated by President Trump with the support of numerous countries, and the US support of Ukraine in the conflict with Russia.
- Christopher Parker (Classics and General Humanities), has published a memoir titled, What Can You Do for Poetry? in Issue 53, 2025 of the Paterson Literary Review.
- Deborah Chatr Aryamontri (Classics and General Humanities), participated in the 2025 Conference of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States along with her student mentee, Omar Ibrahim. Omar presented his paper on the engineering challenges at the Roman Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek.
- Eric Weiner (Educational Foundations), whose blog on viewpoint diversity was featured by Academe Blog.
- To Laura Montanari (Post-Doctoral Teaching and Learning Fellow in Music), whose doctoral dissertation, Songwriting Oral History Interviews: Archival Songs as Critical-Creative Pedagogy in Dialogue with the Women of the Italian Resistance, received the 2025 Mason Multimedia Award in the documentary or performance category.
- To Jennifer Bostedo (Gourmet Dining) who was featured by FoodServiceDirector.com on Montclair’s Farm Box program which brings fresh produce to students and staff.
- To the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC), for passing 50,000 downloads from its Digital Commons site, from 2,375 institutions, in 177 countries/regions of the world, of its P-12 philosophy curriculum materials, video recorded academic events, ‘Thinking’ journal issues, oral history interviews, and other materials.
Social Media Post of Note
We keep moving up the charts! For the first time, Montclair State University has been named among the Top 30 public institutions in the nation and has been ranked the #1 spot for public universities in the state of New Jersey by @wsj 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. ranking.
Photo of the Week
Welcoming ceremony for the Center for Indigenous Justice – University Photographer: Mike Peters
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.